The Labour and Conservative parties are arguing over immigration. New numbers show that over 150,000 people have crossed the English Channel in small boats in the last seven years.
On Boxing Day, 407 people made the journey in 10 boats. Adding the 451 people who crossed on Christmas Day, the total number of people who have crossed the Channel since 2018 is now 150,243. This is as many people as live in the city of Cambridge.
A spokesperson for the Home Office blamed the previous government for the problem, saying they left behind a broken border security system.
The spokesperson said the new government is working to fix the problem by creating a new Border Security Command, hiring more investigators, and making new agreements with Europe to stop criminal gangs from making money from smuggling people.
However, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, criticized the Labour government for allowing 858 immigrants to enter the country on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. He said the government’s decision to cancel the Rwanda deterrent plan was a mistake.
According to the Home Office, over 22,000 people have crossed the Channel since Sir Keir Starmer became Prime Minister in July. This is a 24% increase from the same period last year, but a 32% decrease from the record year of 2022. So far this year, 35,898 migrants have crossed the Channel, a 22% increase from last year ¹.
