For over a decade, Conservatives have promised to crack down on illegal migration and slash legal arrivals, but their repeated failure has infuriated voters and further demonised immigrants. In his first major speech as PM in January 2023, Rishi Sunak announced a bold promise to 'stop the boats', staking his reputation on an unachievable pledge, according to a long-term Home Office staffer.
Sunak doubled down with branded lecterns and slick videos, but by June 2024, small boat arrivals stood at 12,901, higher than the same period in any of the previous four years. The number of crossings dipped slightly in 2023, but images of crowded vessels remain regular news features, highlighting either desperate people risking their lives or the post-Brexit government's failure to control borders.
Public dissatisfaction with immigration handling is at a record high, with 69% dissatisfied, citing Sunak's failure to stop the boats as the main reason, according to thinktank British Future. The gap between rhetoric and reality is stark: legal migration soared to an all-time peak of 745,000 net in 2022, up from 184,000 in 2019, while an estimated 96% of immigrants arrive legally.
Some within government privately welcomed the post-Brexit increase in immigration to meet economic needs, but the relentless focus on stopping small boats has skewed public perception, with most voters believing illegal migration is larger than legal migration. The small boats debacle has become emblematic of this troubled chapter of Conservative rule.
