The British people are incredibly generous, as we have seen repeatedly over recent years, opening our homes and hearts to people fleeing conflict or political repression in place like Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Hong Kong.
45,000 people crossed the Channel illegally last year, part of a surge in illegal migration that is driven by criminal gangs and human traffickers. The British people may be generous, but we are not a soft touch, and the Prime Minister has been clear about his commitment to clamp down on this industry, allowing us to offer asylum to those in genuine need while ensuring that our systems are not exploited by those seeking to profit from human misery.
To do so requires coordination with international partners, chiefly France, and this was the aim of the Prime Minister’s visit to Paris on Friday, where he secured a major new deal with President Macron. Under this agreement we will see new detention centres opened in France, a doubling of the number of French personnel deployed along the coastline, all backed by the latest technology, to prevent people from undertaking this most perilous of journeys in the first place.
This all builds on the deal agreed last year, which has already stopped 33,000 attempted crossings, and will reinforce the Prime Minister’s Illegal Migration Bill. I know that this issue remains a priority for so many and I can assure that I will follow the progress of this agreement closely.
Closer to home, I was delighted to join with Karen Harrison, the Mayor of St Annes, and Deputy Mayor Cheryl Little on Friday evening to celebrate their charitable efforts during their year in office. These have seen them raise over £2,000 for Homestart Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre, a volunteer-led charity that helps families overcome the challenges that come with having a young child.
The organisation does a fantastic job supporting families in our community and, as a patron of the charity, I was delighted to participate in the handing over of the cheque, which I know will make such a difference to their efforts.
This weekend also saw a landmark in our local heritage, with the Town Crier handover taking place in a wonderful ceremony at Lytham Hall as Kila Redfearn assumed the role, taking over from Colin Ballard.
Kila will be well known to many people locally through her fantastic work leading the Blue Skies Charity at Blackpool Victoria Hospital and the other many roles she and her husband, Andrew Redfearn, undertake in our community.
My thanks go out to Karen, Cheryl and Colin for their contribution here in Fylde and I look forward to working with Kila.