Small boat crossings to hit 50,000 since Labour came to power

The number of migrants to cross the English Channel in small boats since Labour took power last summer is expected to surpass 50,000 this week.

According to Home Office figures, 49,797 people had made the journey as of Sunday, with Monday's final total set to be confirmed later. Home Office minister Baroness Smith told the BBC that this was an “unacceptable number of people,” but insisted that the new ‘one in, one out’ returns agreement with France was acting as a deterrent.

However, the Conservative Party said the figures showed Labour had “surrendered our borders.” The milestone comes as ministers debate how to crack down on people-smuggling gangs, a key promise made by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

“We know how worrying this is for people,” Baroness Smith said. She stated that while people-smuggling gangs have gained a “horrific foothold in the trafficking of people” in recent years, the government was now “making progress” in combating them.

Under the "one in, one out" pilot scheme, the UK will return some migrants to France in exchange for accepting the same number of vetted asylum seekers with legitimate claims. A government source confirmed that several dozen migrants were detained under the new deal last week, but did not provide a specific number. The first returns are expected within weeks, though initial numbers are likely to be small.

A Political Flashpoint 🚤

The number of small boat crossings from the day Labour came to power on 5 July 2024 to Monday, 11 August 2025, is now set to pass 50,000. This is a significant increase on the 36,346 migrant crossings recorded in the equivalent period a year prior.

This is not the first time arrivals have surpassed 50,000 in a similar timeframe. Government figures show there were 53,587 arrivals by small boat between October 2021 and November 2022 under the previous Conservative government. Officials have noted that an unusually high number of days with calm, warm weather at the start of this year may have partly contributed to the high number of crossings.

The Conservatives, however, accuse Labour of presiding over the “worst illegal immigration crisis in our history,” calling the situation a “taxpayer-funded ferry service for the people-smuggling trade.”

“Anyone arriving illegally should be detained immediately upon arrival,” said shadow home secretary Chris Philp.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, commented: “As I predicted, if we don't deport illegal migrants, the numbers will be massive. 50,000 crossings during this poor prime minister's first year, and there is no sign of it ending.”

Government Strategy and Aid Groups' Response

The Home Office said it has a “serious strategy to shut down the networks” and reduce dangerous small boat crossings. The 50,000 milestone is particularly troubling for a government that has pledged to break the gangs driving the crossings.

Officials say there is “no silver bullet” to bring the numbers down, but that practical steps like tackling illegal work and deporting foreign criminals more quickly are part of a wider strategy. Baroness Smith says the Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill, currently before Parliament, will give ministers greater powers to “challenge the gangs.” Proposed changes include tougher prison sentences for criminals advertising illegal Channel crossings online and increased funding for the National Crime Agency.

When asked about the Tory claim that very few people would be removed under the ‘one in, one out’ pilot, Baroness Smith said the former Conservative government’s Rwanda deportation programme “cost £700 million and was never going to remove more than a handful of people.”

The latest figures come amid a string of protests and counter-protests outside UK hotels used to house asylum seekers.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “People do not cross the Channel unless the reasons pushing them are more frightening than what lies ahead.” He added that the men, women, and children in small boats are “often fleeing places like Sudan, where war has left them with nowhere else to turn.”

To deter smugglers, he said, the government must expand safe and legal routes, such as schemes allowing family members to join loved ones already settled in the UK. “Without these steps, desperate people will continue to travel on dangerous routes, and violent criminal gangs will simply adapt their methods.”