Boat migrants hit 50,000 for Labour

MORE than 50,000 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the English Channel since Labour won the 2024 general election.

- PRESS ASSOCIATION REPORTERS

Home Office figures show 474 migrants arrived by small boat on Monday alone, which brings recorded arrivals to 50,271 since the election on July 4 2024.

Labour former home secretary Baroness Smith of Malvern had said earlier on Tuesday that reaching the milestone is “unacceptable”.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour's promise to “smash the criminal boat gangs” in its manifesto last year was “just a slogan”, with crossings now “so much worse” than they were before the vote.

There have been 27,029 arrivals so far this year, which is 47% higher than at the same point of 2024 when the figure stood at 18,342, and 67% higher than at the same time in 2023 (16,170).