In principle, housing asylum seekers waiting to be processed on a barge is no different to housing them on land, and using the fact that it’s a barge to criticise the government provides plenty of ammunition for defenders of the policy. On paper it doesn’t sound too bad and there’s scope for government supporters to argue that detractors would criticise any initiative.
However I can’t help thinking it’s another stunt that the government are using to divide opinion, and when the details are made clear it probably doesn’t save a penny and it provides a useful distraction from the real issue which is the total inadequacy of the Home Office in processing applications in a timely manner.