More than 25,000 people have crossed the English Channel into the United Kingdom so far this year, marking the fastest pace of arrivals since records began in 2018 and piling pressure on the UK’s Labour government as anti-immigration sentiment is stoked by the political right wing.
Figures released on Thursday show that nearly 900 refugees and migrants made the crossing in 13 small boats on Wednesday alone, bringing the total number of arrivals in 2025 to 25,436. It’s a perilous journey that has resulted in dozens of deaths over the years.
The milestone is likely to intensify political scrutiny over Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s handling of undocumented migration. His government has pledged tougher action on smuggling networks, with Starmer vowing to “smash the gangs” responsible for transporting people across the Channel.
Opposition politicians have seized on the latest numbers to criticise Labour’s approach.
“Almost 900 people crossed the Channel yesterday, meaning 25,000 people, mainly young men, have crossed the Channel this year. [And] 2025 is the worst year on record so far, and the Labour Government are doing nothing to stop the crossings,” said Conservative Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.
He added: “Their 17 in, one out deal with France will not even make a dent – it would take 10 years for [Home Secretary] Yvette Cooper to deport the illegal immigrants that have arrived since the start of this year alone under her so-called deal, which still hasn’t started.”
Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced “one in, one out” returns of asylum seekers earlier this month. The pilot programme sets out that for every person returned, a different individual would be allowed “to come here via a safe route: controlled and legal, subject to strict security checks and only open to those who have not tried to enter the UK illegally”, Starmer said at the time.
Philp also reiterated his party’s proposal to immediately detain and deport new arrivals, warning that continued legal challenges under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) could force a Conservative government to consider withdrawing from it, a threat they have often made in and around the Brexit years when the party was in government.
Radical right Reform UK leader Nigel Farage echoed those criticisms, writing on social media: “898 illegals crossed the English Channel yesterday. This means more hotels, more costs and more people who should not be here. The public have had ENOUGH!”
A series of violent far-right demonstrations have been held recently outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Epping, north of London.
Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a hardline anti-immigration platform and has been executing it during his second term with raids and deportations of immigrants, recently praised the UK government’s efforts, saying it was “doing a fantastic thing” by addressing the issue, though he admitted knowing “nothing about the boats”.
