They really do take us all for fools.
On Friday morning the Government announced, as if it was confirming some sort of triumph, that no small boats had crossed the Channel for the previous 28 days – the longest period without illegal migrants making the journey for seven years.
That statistic is correct, but it is also meaningless and signals no triumph of any description.
The issue of small boats is no less of a crisis than it was a month ago – and it says much about the Labour Government’s contempt for voters that it thought anyone would be hoodwinked by such a misleading boast.
The people smugglers have not suddenly mothballed their dinghies because they realise that the game is up. They are as disdainful of Labour’s lily-livered approach to their activities as they have always been.
But while they have repeatedly demonstrated since Labour came to power that they will ignore the Government’s paltry attempts to stop them, they also know that they cannot ignore the weather, which has been so bad in recent weeks it made the always perilous journey across the Channel impossible.
It’s not for nothing that December often sees a drop in the number of crossings.
Sure enough, the four-week hiatus ended the moment the weather eased – and more than 160 people duly landed in Dover on Saturday morning.
Migrants attempt to board a boat in an attempt to cross the English Channel on August 12, 2025
Labour’s pretence that it is successfully tackling the small boats crisis is not merely risible, it is a danger to democracy.
The charade dismisses a very real concern of voters, who come to resent the fact that their views are simply ignored.
The reality is that the Government has made things worse since it took office.
Yes, the crisis erupted under the previous Conservative administration, but by investing so much time and money in the Rwanda scheme, the Tories showed that they were serious about ending the problem.
By scrapping that much-needed deterrent, Labour sent a message, loud and clear, to potential illegal migrants that Britain was open for business. Come one and all, for now there is no penalty should they make it across the Channel.
And Starmer’s one-in-one-out wheeze with France is more of a distraction than a deterrent.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood talks a good game about understanding the importance of tackling illegal immigration, but actions speak louder than any words.
Firstly, we need to return to a third-party deportation scheme, whether it is sending asylum seekers to Rwanda or elsewhere.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) agreed a ‘one in, one out’ deal with France in July
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood arrives in Downing Street for the Cabinet meeting in on December 9, 2025
Secondly, we must step up enforcement and go after employers who flagrantly flout the law by using illegal migrants. These workers play a huge role in swelling the black economy, which is estimated to be about 10 per cent of Britain’s GDP.
Without the lure of such a lucrative market for their labour, migrants would think twice about paying huge sums to people traffickers and embarking on a life-risking Channel crossing.
Thirdly, we need to ensure that the French do what we pay them £476 million to do and prioritise interception of the boats before they leave their shores.
Instead of gendarmes standing idly by as dinghies fill with asylum hopefuls, perhaps they could use some of Britain’s largesse and buy a penknife to slash the boats while they remain in shallow water.
These are all vital steps, but there is nothing to suggest that a government that is cosplaying at protecting the nation’s borders – and which thinks it can claim credit for the impact of the weather – will do what is needed.
