UK Records Second-Highest Annual Small Boat Arrivals as Immigration Dominates Political Debate

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The United Kingdom recorded the second-highest annual number of migrants arriving by small boats since records began in 2018, according to government figures released on Thursday, as immigration continues to shape the country’s political landscape.

Home Office data showed that 41,472 migrants reached England’s southern coast in 2025 after crossing the English Channel from northern France. No arrivals were detected on December 31. The figure is second only to the record 45,774 arrivals registered in 2022 under the previous Conservative government.

The latest statistics come amid rising political pressure on Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose government has faced growing criticism over its handling of irregular migration. Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood has recently proposed a sharp reduction in refugee protections and an end to automatic benefits for asylum seekers as part of efforts to reform the system.

Immigration has also emerged as a central issue ahead of local elections scheduled for May, with Reform UK — led by prominent Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage — gaining ground in opinion polls. Reform has reportedly held double-digit leads over Labor for much of 2025.

Former Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak pledged to “stop the boats” during his time in office, but was unable to meet that goal. After losing power to Labor in July 2024, Sunak later acknowledged that the slogan was overly simplistic and failed to reflect the complexity of the challenge.

Prime Minister Starmer has adopted a different approach, pledging to “smash the gangs” behind people-smuggling operations that facilitate Channel crossings. However, his government has yet to achieve a significant reduction in arrivals.

In a New Year message, Farage predicted that strong results for Reform in the upcoming local elections could pave the way for a general election victory, due by 2029 at the latest. He said this would allow his party to “fundamentally change the whole system of government in Britain,” without directly referencing migration.

Starmer, meanwhile, used his own New Year address to vow that his government would “defeat the decline and division offered by others,” while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch urged voters not to accept what she described as "politics of grievance” that suggests Britain cannot change.

As migration numbers remain high, the issue is expected to remain a key test for the Labor government and a defining theme in the UK’s evolving political contest.