Government data show 41,472 migrants reached England's southern coast in 2025 by small boats — the second-highest yearly total since 2018. The surge has intensified political debate ahead of May local elections, helping Reform UK rise in the polls while Labour proposes tougher asylum rules. Officials cite a 'one-in one-out' returns scheme with France and other measures as part of the response, but protests and record asylum claims complicate the picture.
Nearly 41,500 Small-Boat Arrivals in 2025 — Second-Highest Since 2018, Fuelling Political Debate
Migrants picked up at sea, including children, disembark from a Border Force vessel in Dover on England's south coast (Ben Stansall)(Ben Stansall/AFP/AFP)
Government figures published on Thursday show that 41,472 migrants reached England's southern coast in 2025 after attempting the hazardous Channel crossing from northern France — the second-highest annual total since records began in 2018.
The wave of small-boat crossings has become a central political issue ahead of key local elections in May, boosting support for Nigel Farage's anti-immigration Reform UK and increasing pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government to produce a clear solution.
Policy response: Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has proposed sharp reductions to refugee protections and an end to automatic benefits for people seeking asylum. Ministers point to a newly promoted "one-in one-out" returns scheme with France as part of the response. Border security and asylum minister Alex Norris said 153 people have been removed from the UK to France and 134 returned to the UK under existing arrangements.
Former Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak, who once campaigned to 'stop the boats', later said he regretted the slogan as too 'stark' and 'binary'. Mr Sunak was replaced by Keir Starmer in July 2024. Starmer has pledged to 'smash the gangs' by dismantling people-smuggling networks, but his administration has not yet reduced crossings below previous levels.
Politics and public reaction
Opinion polls through much of 2025 have shown Reform UK leading Labour by double-digit margins. In a New Year message Nigel Farage said success in the upcoming local elections could propel Reform to victory at the next general election, due by 2029 at the latest. Starmer responded by pledging to 'defeat the decline and division offered by others', while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged voters not to be swayed by what she called a 'politics of grievance'.
Protests and asylum pressure
The past year has seen repeated local protests against the use of hotels to house migrants. In September, organisers said up to 150,000 people gathered in central London for one of Britain's largest far-right demonstrations, organised by activist Tommy Robinson. Asylum claims are at a record high, with roughly 111,000 applications made in the year to June 2025, official figures show.
Labour ministers have studied Denmark's recent hardline migration measures — where successful asylum claims are at multi-decade lows — but proposed changes are likely to provoke resistance from the party's left wing and from refugee and human-rights campaigners.
'Irregular migration is tearing our country apart,' Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood warned in November. Officials say tougher rules and returns agreements are intended to remove incentives for dangerous crossings.
Government officials argue a mix of returns deals, tougher asylum rules and disruption of smuggling networks is necessary to reduce crossings. Critics counter that these steps risk undermining protections for refugees and will not on their own address the underlying causes driving people to attempt the crossing.
Source: Home Office figures and official statements
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