I have a vague memory of a television advert that was designed to encourage people to engage with democracy, specifically encouraging them to use their vote.

If I recall correctly, it was a conversation between two people, one of whom said he wasn’t interested in politics.

It was pointed out to him that virtually everything was politics, ranging from the ‘little things’ – the state of the roads, the schools his kids went to, whether or not his bins were collected on time – through to how much tax he paid, the NHS our international relations with other countries and everything in between.

However, this was back in the days when politics was ‘boring’, when you would struggle to recall the name of the Home Secretary.

But politics certainly isn’t boring at the moment, specifically the issue of asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats. Now at first glance, this might seem to be a problem confined to the south coast but the events of last week certainly brought it closer to home.

I refer, of course, to the closure of the Fir Grove hotel in Grappenhall to the paying public, only for it to reopen as accommodation for asylum seekers.

I think a lot of people were taken aback at the speed with which this happened and the apparent lack of consultation between the Home Office and Warrington Borough Council but in some ways, it’s not surprising and can be traced directly back to the overcrowding and chaos at the Manston Reception Centre in Kent.

For the record, the purpose of Manston is to process newly arrived migrants, including taking biometric details. Refugees are only supposed to stay at the former military camp for 24 hours before being moved to other accommodation, usually hotels, around the country.

But this system only works if the government procures enough hotel rooms for the refugees. When this doesn’t happen, Manston becomes overwhelmed and we get the shameful sight of overcrowding and asylum seekers being forced to sleep on camping mats in tents.

And that’s what happened over the past few weeks. It caused an emergency at Manston which directly led to the sudden change of status at the Fir Grove.

As I said at the start, everything is politics and until a couple of weeks ago the system for processing and moving on migrants seemed to be working. So what changed?

I refer you to a report which appeared on the website of radio station LBC which said: “The Home Secretary allegedly refused to sign off on hotel bookings for migrants, which would have eased pressure on the Manston processing centre, because ‘they were in Tory voting areas’.

“A senior government source told LBC Suella Braverman was presented with options for locations to move asylum seekers from the overcrowded site in Kent, where conditions are said to be ‘wretched’, but wouldn’t approve those in Conservative seats.”

No surprise then that the response from Warrington South Tory MP Andy Carter is that the Fir Grove (which is in his constituency) ‘is not an appropriate site for asylum seekers’.

As an aside, I wonder exactly what he would consider an ‘appropriate site’.

To be fair, Warrington Council leaders aren’t particularly happy about it either, pointing out that Paddington House is already housing asylum seekers and the town’s services are also having to deal with an influx of people from Hong Kong as well as those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

But let’s get one thing right, those crossing the channel in small boats are not illegal immigrants, no matter how many times Braverman et al refer to them as such.

As Amelia Susserott of Lancaster University law school wrote: “Asylum seekers are entitled to come to the UK via whatever means possible, provided they inform the authorities of their presence upon their arrival and have good reason for seeking asylum. Asylum seekers cannot therefore come to the UK ‘illegally’.”

They only become illegal if they don’t present to the authorities and remain in the UK as undocumented migrants.

I’d like to add there is also absolutely no requirement in international law (which the UK has signed up to) for refugees to seek asylum in the first ‘safe’ country they reach and let’s not forget that Brexit saw the UK withdraw from the Dublin agreement which allowed some migrants to be returned to a European country they had passed through without having their asylum claim being heard here.

Ah Brexit, sovereignty and taking back control – the gift that keeps on giving.