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The end of a 28-day pause in small boat crossings has once again exposed the fragility of the migration debate.
For almost a month, no migrants were recorded arriving in the UK by small boat – the longest uninterrupted lull since 2018.
Quietly, ministers welcomed the timing. Public pressure over Channel crossings has remained intense, and the absence of arrivals offered a rare moment of political breathing space.
But Saturday’s new crossings have brought that pause to an abrupt end, reinforcing a long-running problem for successive governments: migration numbers are volatile, weather-dependent, and politically unforgiving.
December has always been one of the quietest months for Channel crossings. Cold temperatures, poor visibility and rough seas make the journey significantly more dangerous, and arrivals typically fall.
People attempt to cross the English Channel from northern France in August. Pic: Reuters
Critics argue that presenting the lull as progress risks mistaking seasonal conditions for policy success. The return of boats as soon as conditions eased underlines what campaigners describe as a “one in, one out” reality – any short-term dip can quickly be reversed.
That matters because the political stakes are high. Small-boat crossings have become a defining symbol of government control – or lack of it – over borders.
The prime minister has repeatedly promised to stop the “vile trade” of migrants in the Channel, while the home secretary has set out a tougher stance focused on deterrence, faster removals, international cooperation and disrupting smuggling gangs.
Yet the numbers continue to test that claim. Total arrivals this year stand at 39,292, up from 36,816 at the same point last year – a rise of around seven per cent.
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Even with periodic lulls, the overall trajectory remains stubbornly high. For ministers, that makes it difficult to point to clear evidence that policy, rather than circumstance, is driving change.
Opposition parties have seized on that tension. Labour argues that the Conservatives left behind a broken asylum system and that long-term solutions will take time.
The Greens, led by Zack Polanski, reject what they see as headline-driven politics altogether, calling for a managed but more humane system – including allowing asylum seekers to work – while dismissing claims they support open borders.
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France to intercept small boats
What Saturday’s crossings show is that migration policy rarely offers clean political wins. Governments want decisive moments – a turning point, a breakthrough – but the Channel does not operate to political timetables.
As winter passes and crossings inevitably rise again, the government will be judged not on short pauses, but on whether it can deliver sustained reductions without relying on the weather to do the work for it.
