What Britain’s six party leaders think about the refugee camp in Calais

The response varies by party

Conditions in the camp are unsanitary and potentially dangerous (AP)

There are now over 9,000 people camped out in refugee areas in northern France - including at Calais and Dunkirk.

Most of the people want to get to the UK and some of them are trying to enter without papers.

Politicians in Britain are at odds about how to deal with the situation: here are their responses.

Labour: Jeremy Corbyn

There have been reports of internal fighting in Jeremy Corbyn's inner-circle (Getty/Christopher Furlong)

Jeremy Corbyn has called the Government to be “reasonable” and to consider letting people in with connections to the UK. He says all European countries should work together to take a share of the people in the camps.

“We cannot just ignore the fact that are a large number of people in a very serious, deeply depressed state and they need our help,” he told ITV’s This Morning programme on Monday.

“I think there should be a system agreed with all European countries to take some people so we all take a share.

“I’m not saying all 9,000 should come in, start with those that have a British connection and a British passport - that's an obvious one. And the Home Office can let up a bit and be reasonable in those cases.”

Conservatives: David Cameron

David Cameron attends the funeral of Charles Kennedy in November 2015 (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

David Cameron has rejected taking people from Calais, though Government ministers have hinted they are considering changing policy on giving asylum to unaccompanied child migrants.

“Jeremy Corbyn supports an entirely open-door migration policy, so I'm not surprised by his views,” he told a Downing Street press conference on Monday night in response to Jeremy Corbyn’s comments.

“I think it would be a very bad move to make Calais a magnet for even more people to come by saying there was some kind of direct access from Calais into the UK, as Jeremy Corbyn seems to be saying. That's the wrong approach.”

Ukip: Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage raised the issue of the camp over the summer. He described the situation and “scary” and said he had witnessed it first-hand.

"I was stuck on that road outside Eurotunnel a few weeks ago. I was there for about 40 minutes and I was surrounded by scores of migrants, crossing the motorway and trying the passenger doors on my car. It is a pretty scary situation,” he told BBC London on July.

"The British government appears not to want to criticise the French government at all but frankly they are not doing enough."

Liberal Democrats: Tim Farron

Tim Farron’s Private Member’s Bill would commit the UK to allow in unaccompanied refugee children (Getty)

Tim Farron called on the Prime Minister to visit “hot-spots” such as a Calais and come up with a plan to house unaccompanied children.

“This weekend we saw the usual nod and winks from 'sources' and Number 10 stoking speculation that an announcement is coming. Every day the Government waits is another night that a child sleeps rough, in Europe, in sub-zero temperatures,” he wrote in a letter.

“Britain must open its heart and open its doors to those in need. After much pressing, the Government now seem to agree - it's time to act.”

SNP: Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon is making education a focus for the SNP election campaign (Getty)

Nicola Sturgeon has previously raised concerns about the humanitarian situation in the camp, as well as the impact on business of regular disruption at the port.

"Our primary concern over the current situation in Calais must be to play our part in addressing the underlying humanitarian issues. Increasing security at the Channel Tunnel, whilst welcome, will only help in the short term, and is not addressing the root cause of the issue," she wrote in a letter in August.

"Seafood from Scotland is the UK's biggest food export, worth more than £600 million annually. The delays, damage and uncertainty caused by the lack of safe and timely passage through the Tunnel is costing the sector millions of pounds every week and placing future markets in jeopardy."

Green Party: Natalie Bennett

(Getty)

Natalie Bennett said Britain should be taking a lead in getting Europe to take more refugees and that taking in people with ties to the UK could end the disruption in Calais.

“In Britain, we should abandon the fiction of our own utterly risible ‘vulnerable Syrians’ programme and sign up to the UN scheme to take our fair share of the most vulnerable,” she wrote in an article for the Huffington Post UK website.

“And in terms of a Europe-wide response, we should not be the foot-draggers, not be the resistors, but instead join Merkel's leadership in demanding a programme to ensure that those refugees who reach European soil are fairly distributed among European states - with Britain taking its reasonable share considering both our population and relative wealth.

“That programme should be particularly focused on those with family and community ties already here, and the language skills that make them want to come to the UK. That's what would end the crisis and disruption at Calais.