The lesson of Dover

It is not yet over for Dover. The fact that the queues have been cleared at the Channel ports is just a temporary relief.

The government is, as is its nature, in total denial about what is really happening, but it is clear to all but the deliberately deaf, dumb and blind what’s happening. It is all down to Brexit.

To be fair the Port of Dover and several other places have been warning about the problems that lie ahead for years, but the government has done nothing and is still in complete denial.

The UK asked for a hard border with the EU and they have got a hard border. The French have taken us at our word and are checking UK passports, just to make sure that we do not stay in their country any longer than we have promised to.

The problems have been made far worse by two facts. First, much of the infrastructure that exists was built long before Brexit and secondly, there is just not the space to build the larger post-Brexit facilities that are now necessary.

Eurostar is sending its trains out with empty seats, not because it can’t or doesn’t want to sell tickets but because it doesn’t have the space at St. Pancras to process a full train load. Imagine how much money that is costing the company every time a train leaves the platform half empty.

The situation is the same at Dover. As the government may have noticed, the Port of Dover is at the foot of the White Cliffs of Dover, and there is no room to build more facilities or to build more car parks to hold the long-delayed queues.

Strangely enough, seven years after Brexit started the government hasn’t even tried to build the facilities or hire the staff to deal with the fact that if French Border guards check all passports there will need to be more border guards with more office space.

This is, however, just the start. The EU was due to introduce biometric checks on UK passport holders this year; again, the UK government has done nothing to prepare for this. It was only saved by the fact that the EU’s computer technology was not ready in time and the introduction of the new system has been delayed.

But once it is up and running, British travellers to the continent will need to register their biometric details, a picture, and fingerprints, in advance and have them checked at the border. This leads to much more red tape and expense and much more delay.

The checks will stretch from seconds to minutes, the queues will stretch from miles to tens of miles. No one is sure whether the checks can be done inside travellers’ vehicles. If people have to get out of their cars, then the dangers for passengers multiply, because the ports have not been built to allow for that.

It is a complete dog’s dinner, with the government in denial and serious problems not just for tourists but for supply chains too.

This is all happening – now. The government’s own civil servants, the ports’ management, the rail companies, the supply chain industry, and a dozen others are warning what is on the way. And the government blames the weather.