After a significant increase in crossings this October compared to last year, the milestone has been reached in the five months since the election in July.
This year’s crossings remain below those of 2022, when a spike in late-summer arrivals drove numbers to all-time highs.
However, they are higher than those of the previous year, highlighting the magnitude of the political obstacle that Sir Keir Starmer’s administration must overcome.
Ministers privately admit that the public’s opinion of the government depends on how well irregular and illegal migration is handled.
The main cause of this is an increase of crossings in October, with Home Office sources indicating that there were more days in the month than there were in the previous year when the waters were calmer.
