This is The Guardian.

Whether it's people crossing in the first place, whether it's people in asylum hotels,

or whether it's returning people, we absolutely have to deal with this.

It is gimmick after gimmick after gimmick.

It's not working. This is the worst year ever.

And the government just doesn't accept this is a full-blown crisis,

which requires a crisis response.

I'm Pippa Carrera.

And I'm Kieran. You're listening to Politics Weekly for the Guardian.

Well, we are back and back at Westminster after what feels like a long summer to me.

I mean, obviously, an eventful summer nonetheless.

Are you happy to be here, Kieran, squeezedezed into her room with me? I've got an admission for you, Pippa. This isn't my first time in the broom cupboard since I've been back. I'm afraid. You've venturing out alone, without me. Even worse, I invited your deputy, Jess Elgert, here last week so that she could sample the delights of the broom cupboard for the first time.

And I think it's quite stifling day that day as well.

So anyway, I'm very sorry.

Well, if there's anyone other than Jess, obviously, been mortally wounded, but as it is lovely Jess, that's absolutely fine. And I actually popped back into Westminster store last week just to kind of get the lay of land and to actually clear my massive email inbox, which is mounted up while I've been off over the last few weeks.

I generally try to totally switch off over the summer and not to look at any news because I think we all need a bit of time just to decompress, spend time with our families.

And as I'm sure our listeners know, our working lives are pretty hectic often.

So it's actually quite instructive for me to see which stories actually kind of penetrate that bubble I create around myself.

And really the only story which cut through all summer was about Reform UK and small boat crossings and

asylum hotels and some of the protests and the court action that then followed. And I think

if that was kind of making it through to me, then that will be the one story that would have

made it through to most people over the summer. I mean, you wanted to switch off and see your family and not have anything to do with politics,

...