Andy Burnham took a trip to Dover to meet with services over the small boat crisis. He has been in power for 14 days, and over 2000 illegal immigrants have landed.
Romancing positively, he describes figures from last year to this year. He feels figures for this year show a significant change from last year.
The figures for last year’s illegal landings are: annual total 41,472 migrants; this year so far, approx. 14128.
In 2026, UK small‑boat (dinghy) arrivals fell sharply, with roughly 14,128 recorded by late July—around a 44% drop compared with 2025. But that’s only half the story.
There are many variables when it comes to boat crossings. Firstly, the weather must be right. The crossings have been from the Calais area to Dover. It’s the shortest crossing, but Border Force and the RNLI are waiting halfway to taxi the illegal immigrants across.
The other part of the package is that immigrants must pay for a place on the dinghies. They are not free, and gangs are exploiting people to make plenty of money.
But currently it’s been reported in the media that there is a sale on. A few hundred pounds off crossings. We will have to look at the figures in the next few months.
Now, to make matters worse, we have the introduction of the mega dinghy. This huge dinghy can hold up to 165 illegal immigrants. Five mega dinghies and 825 illegal immigrants could land in one day.
But Andy Burnham, in an interview, said more needs to be done. The 14,000 so far is way past any figure that’s acceptable.
Years ago, the only way people got into the UK was in the back of trucks, with many attempts in 2010 and a lot this year.
How many boats would come if the weather was perfect 24/7? All those people from Morocco breaking into Spanish territory want to go somewhere, and soft-touch Britain is the place they want to be.
Reform UK has a tough stance on immigration, and perhaps Andy Burnham should take a leaf out of their book.