A decade on from the UK's vote to leave the EU, we explore how the political landscape has evolved in Dover, a town that's shaping the national conversation more than any other
The people of the EU feel the same about governments forgetting their people. Immigration is not a problem. It’s the liars and grifters that are the issue. Yes there are immigrants that should not be allowed into the country or Europe, but that doesn’t mean the genuine asylum seekers should be stopped and those with skills rarely come by an inflatable boat. We need to look why they are coming here, not just a knee jerk reaction stating it for benefits / commit crime. It is a hard question to answer and only will be solved with all of Europe coming together. The European Union has its issues, however we can only change it when in it. Closed minds never solve problems, open minds do.
There are limits to what any government, including a Reform government, can do to regenerate Dover.
The town cannot recover the labour-intensive passenger ferry economy of the 1960s and 1970s. Technology and the Channel Tunnel have permanently altered that market.
Its geography is fixed. The port occupies much of the waterfront, and the surrounding valleys and cliffs limit opportunities for large-scale redevelopment.
It is relatively distant from the UK's largest centres of high-value employment.
It's main hope would be to become a high value logistics and trade hub, but this isn't going to sustain the present population.
The people of the EU feel the same about governments forgetting their people. Immigration is not a problem. It’s the liars and grifters that are the issue. Yes there are immigrants that should not be allowed into the country or Europe, but that doesn’t mean the genuine asylum seekers should be stopped and those with skills rarely come by an inflatable boat. We need to look why they are coming here, not just a knee jerk reaction stating it for benefits / commit crime. It is a hard question to answer and only will be solved with all of Europe coming together. The European Union has its issues, however we can only change it when in it. Closed minds never solve problems, open minds do.
There are limits to what any government, including a Reform government, can do to regenerate Dover.
The town cannot recover the labour-intensive passenger ferry economy of the 1960s and 1970s. Technology and the Channel Tunnel have permanently altered that market.
Its geography is fixed. The port occupies much of the waterfront, and the surrounding valleys and cliffs limit opportunities for large-scale redevelopment.
It is relatively distant from the UK's largest centres of high-value employment.
It's main hope would be to become a high value logistics and trade hub, but this isn't going to sustain the present population.