UK: Small Boat Channel Crossings Fell 36% in 2023
Data from the UK government shows there were about 30K migrants detected crossing the English Channel in 2023, down from more than 45K the year prior — a decrease of approximately 36%....
Facts
- Data from the UK government shows there were about 30K migrants detected crossing the English Channel in 2023, down from more than 45K the year prior — a decrease of approximately 36%.1
- 2023's provisional statistic sits higher than 2021, which saw 28.5K migrants cross the English Channel. Comparatively, there were 8.5K crossings in 2020, 1.8K crossings in 2019, and 300 crossings in 2018.2
- In total, 114.3K migrants have entered the UK via small boats since January 2018. 15.3K crossings have been made since the implementation of the Illegal Migration Act in July 2023, while 64.8K have entered since the UK's first scheduled Rwanda flight in June 2022 and 28.2K since the pledge to 'stop the boats' in January 2023.2
- Commenting on the data, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has claimed that he is 'determined to end the burden of illegal migration,' while the Home Office called its work on reducing small boat crossings 'robust' in comparison to an 80% rise in European sea crossings.3
- In response to the data, the Immigration Services Union claimed that 2023's decrease in channel crossings was a 'glitch,' that there had been 'confounding factors' such as 'particularly high winds,' and that 2024 was likely to see greater numbers of crossings.4
Sources: 1ABC News, 2Migration Watch UK, 3GOV.UK and 4BBC News.
Narratives
- Right narrative, as provided by The Telegraph. With stopping the boats being one of Sunak's core pledges having entered office, the Home Office's statistics are a welcome return for the government and a positive start to 2024. While it's clear that there is much more to do, and the near-return channel crossing levels seen in 2021 will not satisfy anyone, progress is certainly being made — especially compared to the dangerous upward trends being witnessed across the rest of Europe.
- Left narrative, as provided by Huffington Post. With 2023 being the second-highest year for channel crossings since the problem's rise, Sunak has in no way delivered on his promise and finished 2023 having completed only one of his five pledges. The administration has failed to remedy the problem created on its own watch and continues to hedge bets on popularity via gimmick policies such as the Rwanda Bill rather than truly attempting to revive the UK.
