Migrant flow won’t be stopped by Brexit

JUST in case nobody has noticed, there are two major planks of the Brexit campaign that probably swung the vote but simply do not hold water.

The first is taking back control of our borders. Many voters saw this as a promise to keep out unwelcome immigrants.

There is a flow of migrants that upsets many, not only in Britain. Suppose that we can successfully close our borders to these migrants.

An equivalent situation would be to build a dam to stop the flow of a river. This would stem the flow for a while. However, the flow behind the dam would continue and water would accumulate until it overtopped the dam or found some alternative escape route.

This is exactly what happened in the “Jungle” camp at Calais, which has now been cleared and demolished. Does that mean the problem has gone away? Not a bit of it. The migrants have simply dispersed and are continuing their attempts over a much wider area, extending into Normandy.

The only way to stop an unwanted flow is to cut it off at source. The German Democratic Republic understood this and shot migrants before they crossed the fence. If we are to close our borders, we will have to be prepared to shoot people when they are still the other side of our fence. That would, to say the least, give rise to serious diplomatic incidents.

The second major issue is deregulation. Regulation is supposed to hamper our business.

The Grenfell Tower tragedy demonstrates a complete breakdown of the application and enforcement of building regulations.

A supposedly fire-resistant building was converted into a firework. The reaction of national and local government showed a disturbing lack of urgency.

Do we really want to create an environment that permits unscrupulous behaviour on the part of corporations and the authorities?

Perhaps we should be given the chance to think again before Brexit becomes a reality. Peter Bissmire Caerphilly