A record number of illegal migrants crossed the English Channel in the first three months of this year, despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s government claiming it had succeeded in “stopping ships”.
On Tuesday, a further 338 foreigners were recorded arriving on British shores on boats run by smugglers that set off from French coasts, taking the total since the start of the year to 4,644. according to to an analysis of Home Office figures. telegraph paper.
The most recent Channel crossings were on the 26th and 21st, with stronger weather on other days over the past week discouraging smugglers from coming and going, leaving this year with a record 4,162 crossings by the end of March, set in 2022. This means an increase of more than 20%. In the first quarter of last year, he had more than 3,770 cases.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has sought to take credit for the decline in illegal immigration, with 29,437 people entering the country last year, compared to the record 45,774 set in 2022, but the current rate of increase is new. The market is on pace to hit a new all-time high.
Mr Sunak credited the government’s move to give France an extra £480m to step up patrols of migrant departure hotspots along the coast following a drop in migrant numbers last year. But even the typically pro-migrant BBC reported that the decline was likely simply a result of bad weather reducing navigable waters in the English Channel.
Another major deterrence policy of the Conservative government, sending boat migrants to an asylum processing center in the East African country of Rwanda, was announced in 2022, when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) controversially sought to block migrant removal flights. It has been on hold since the summer intervention. From takeoff.
Although the UK had already left the European Union, it was still bound by the ECHR given that they are technically separate institutions, despite sharing the same Strasbourg campus, national flag and national anthem. , and therefore the UK’s membership within the scheme was not affected by Brexit. .
“Extinction Event”: Conservative Party on track for 1997-style electoral annihilation amid immigration failure and rise of reformhttps://t.co/zHV0tM7bBi
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) January 16, 2024
Sunak’s government is seeking to resolve the problem through legislation, rather than withdrawing from the ECHR, a move favored by critics of mass immigration. The government’s first attempt was rejected by the UK Supreme Court, and the amendments have remained stalled in Parliament for months.
The government had hoped that the Rwanda Security (Asylum and Immigration) Bill would finally pass parliament this week, but following a defeat in the House of Lords, the bill’s introduction has been postponed again until after the Easter recess.
This means the government’s goal of starting migrant removal flights to Rwanda in May is unlikely, with the earliest possible start date likely being June. It comes almost two years after the plan was first proposed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Commenting on the delay, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “This legislation addresses the immigration emergency and we intend to introduce it as soon as possible to reduce the number of people making the dangerous journey across the Channel. ”.
The government’s failure to prevent thousands of foreigners from entering the country each month has become a key issue with an increasingly frustrated electorate, and this week’s survey found that Nigel Farage-founded Reform UK It turns out that the party’s approval rating is currently higher than that of political parties. In terms of confidence that conservatives have in formulating immigration policy.
Populist Reform UK Party outperforms Conservatives with support among men and red-wall votershttps://t.co/DvprvMkfFW
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 24, 2024
