In a grim milestone, the total number of migrants who have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel in small boats has now surpassed 150,000 since records began in 2018. The sobering figure was reached on Boxing Day, according to provisional Home Office data, after hundreds more made the perilous journey over the Christmas period.
At least 850 people landed in small boats on December 25th and 26th alone, including 407 on Boxing Day arriving in 10 separate vessels. This brings the total for 2024 so far to 35,898, a 22% increase compared to the same point last year. However, the annual figure is still 22% lower than the record-breaking 45,774 who crossed in 2022.
An “Appalling Legacy” of Failed Border Control
The opposition Labour Party has slammed the Conservative government for leaving an “appalling legacy of border security” as illegal Channel crossings continue to soar. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called the Christmas Day and Boxing Day arrivals “an insult” and blamed Labour for scrapping the controversial Rwanda asylum plan before it got off the ground.
“By scrapping the Rwanda deterrent before it started, Labour has let us down. We saw removals deterrents work in Australia.”
– Chris Philp, Shadow Home Secretary
Labour has vowed to take a different approach, focused on “smashing the gangs” that facilitate illegal crossings and prioritizing international law enforcement cooperation. However, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has so far refused to set a deadline for seeing numbers fall, insisting that while the UK has a “moral responsibility” to tackle the crisis, providing safe routes is no “alternative to going after the criminal gangs”.
A Mounting Death Toll
2024 is also likely to be the deadliest year yet for Channel crossings. Around 50 migrants have died attempting the journey so far this year according to French coastguard data, already surpassing the total for the whole of 2023. The International Organisation for Migration has reported several additional migrant deaths believed to be linked to crossing attempts.
While still unacceptably high, the slight decrease in arrivals compared to last year is partly attributed to joint UK-France efforts to disrupt smuggling operations. The UK’s National Crime Agency says it is currently leading around 70 live investigations into organized immigration crime and human trafficking.
From “Major Incident” to Major Crisis
The scale of the problem today is a far cry from when Channel crossings first began. In 2018, then-Home Secretary Sajid Javid declared a “major incident” after just 299 migrants were detected making the journey in small boats. Fast-forward to 2022 and that figure had ballooned to nearly 46,000 annually.
- 2018: 299 arrivals
- 2019: 1,843 arrivals
- 2020: 8,466 arrivals
- 2021: 28,526 arrivals
- 2022: 45,774 arrivals (record high)
- 2023: 29,437 arrivals
As the crisis enters its 8th year, the government remains under immense pressure to stem the flow of small boat crossings which continue to overwhelm border forces and the asylum system. With the Rwanda plan stalled and no clear solutions in sight, it seems unlikely that 2025 will see a significant reversal of the upward trend.
For now, the perilous voyages go on, with more men, women and children risking their lives in overcrowded dinghies to reach British shores. Until the root causes are addressed and alternative safe routes provided, the complex and divisive issue of irregular Channel migration will remain one of the biggest challenges facing the UK for the foreseeable future.
