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The number of people arriving in Britain by small boat has increased by more than five times this year compared to last year, although the numbers remain lower than those arriving by sea to Italy, Spain and Greece.
More than 35,800 people arrived in the UK by small boat this year, up from 29,400 last year. according to data from the Home Office. This number is still below the record 45,750 reached in 2022.
But the increase this year – more than half of what happened after the general election on July 4 – is likely to increase the pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who has vowed to break up the criminal gangs that bring migrants across the English Channel and finally bring an end to them. at small boat crossings.
More than 150,000 people have now entered the UK in small boats since the migration route began gaining traction in 2018, in what has become one of the most intractable political crises in recent British history.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak vowed to “stop the boats” altogether – and tried to implement the highly controversial scheme. send asylum seekers to Rwanda – but ultimately had the unpopularity to fall before being voted out of Downing Street in July.
Starmer also rejected pulling targets to reduce small boat arrivals, saying they had not worked well in the past.
However, he came under fire last month when his own six “steps” in government it did not include any targets for legal or illegal immigration.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed earlier this month that the crossing would have been “thousands more” if the Tories had been in power because of the Labor government's enforcement action over the past five months.
Migrant arrivals to the UK by small boat increased this year as similar arrivals in Italy fell sharply from the record high seen in 2023.
Arrivals in Spain increased by 44 percent, while those in Greece increased slightly, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Small boat crossings have decreased significantly in Italy largely due to the Rome Process approved by Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni last year, where Italy signed an agreement with North African countries including Libya and Tunisia to fight international human trafficking gangs. where they work.
Starmer is interested in this simulate the elements of the scheme as part of his efforts to “destroy gangs”.
Afghanistan is the country of origin for the highest number of migrants arriving in small boats in the UK, accounting for 17 per cent in the first three quarters of the year.
There has also been an increase in arrivals from Vietnam this year, with numbers three times higher than in previous years, and accounting for 13 percent of arrivals in the first three quarters of the year.
In April, the government signed an agreement with Vietnam to expand cooperation in dealing with irregular migration.