Migrant Boat Crossings to UK Surge, Undercutting Sunak Vow

Alex Morales
·1 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- The number of migrants reaching the UK by boat hit a record in the first three months of the year, undercutting a central pledge of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as he braces for an already difficult election campaign.

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Some 4,644 people arrived on the British side of the English Channel as of March 26, according to provisional Home Office figures. That surpasses the 4,548 who made the crossing in the first three months of 2022, and the 3,793 who did so last year, with five days remaining of the quarter.

The record number of arrivals is a blow to Sunak who in January 2023, made a promise to “stop the boats” one of five core pledges he asked voters to judge him by. The prime minister had until recently been able to claim some progress in tackling the issue, having cut crossings by more than a third last year.

The increase also undermines Conservative arguments that their controversial plan to send migrants to Rwanda will deter would-be asylum-seekers from making the dangerous sea journey. Sunak is trying to pass legislation through Parliament that would declare Rwanda a safe destination to send migrants to after the Supreme Court last year rejected the plan as unlawful.

The prime minister is hoping to send the first flight of deportees to Rwanda before the election and ease a key source of dissatisfaction among right-leaning voters drifting to the upstart Reform UK party. The UK has already passed legislation requiring the removal from Britain of anyone who arrives in the country bypassing normal immigration controls, including those arriving by small boats.

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