THE shifting of illegal migrants from pricey hotels to ex-military bases is a start — but very far from the end of the problem.
It is vital to slash the £6million-a-day bill for their keep, and to inform those aiming to cross the Channel that they are no longer heading for the lap of luxury.
That alone may deter a few.
But consider the numbers arriving: 45,000 last year alone.
Until we deport that backlog faster than newcomers land we are at best standing still.
We greatly sympathise with the communities near the new camps.
But we are going to need far more of them.
What realistic alternative is there until those small boats are stopped?
You won’t hear one from Labour.
It moans that nothing the Government tries “will work” — but that’s a smokescreen to conceal that it simply disapproves of ANY solutions to this crisis.
Refugee groups, likewise, still pretend all illegal migrants are “vulnerable”, “in search of safety” and need comfy lodgings while their asylum claims are processed.
By which they mean “approved”, since they really just want all-comers given a home in Britain.
If Labour had the guts it would admit that’s its true position too.
IS Energy Secretary Grant Shapps alive to the insanity of trying to get to Net Zero too quickly?
We hope so.
He has at least resisted calls to outlaw new gas boilers before the current 2035 cutoff.
But even that date looks crazy while heat pumps remain unlikely to keep UK homes warm in mid-winter and are vastly more expensive to install.
The EU, meanwhile, is softening its ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, a date five years later than ours.
The Tories must be far more honest about the crippling limits and unaffordability of battery cars — and U-turn now.
With the wider world pressing the brake on Net Zero aspirations, the UK sticking to hastily-agreed, random targets is not a source of national pride.
It’s economic and political suicide.
MANY of the greatest showbiz stars give off a dazzling light.
Paul O’Grady gave off immense warmth too.
He had a magic combination: A sharp (and hilarious) tongue and the biggest of hearts.
Lily Savage made him famous.
But he didn’t need the drag act to become fully a national treasure.
All those tributes to his talent, humour and kindness speak volumes.
Paul was a working-class lad, a gifted comic and presenter, a fierce champion of gay rights and a fanatical animal lover.
It is heartbreaking to lose him at 67.
But what a life.
