Since January, around 10,000 individuals have arrived in the UK aboard small boats

Updated government data released on Saturday revealed that nearly 10,000 asylum seekers had entered Britain in tiny boats so far this year, highlighting a significant issue for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of the July 4 national election.

The number of persons who risked their lives to cross the Channel and settle on England’s southern beaches decreased by a third in 2023, but the most recent figures available on a government website indicated 10,170 arrived between January and May 25, an increase from 7,395 over the same period the previous year.

In reaction to the spike in numbers, a spokesman for the interior ministry stated, “We continue to work closely with our French partners to prevent crossings and save lives.”

After announcing the election date on Wednesday, Sunak later this week stated that undocumented immigrants will not be sent back to Rwanda prior to the vote, raising doubts about one of the main platforms of his Conservative Party.

Legal issues have hampered the plan for more than two years, and if the opposition Labour Party wins the election, it will abandon the idea. According to polls, the Labour Party is now leading the Conservatives by approximately 20 points and is expected to end 14 years of power.

Stephen Kinnock, the opposition immigration minister for Labour, argued that Sunak’s administration had not gone far enough in addressing the problem.

The government has lost sight of the thousands of people who cross the Channel each month since all of its efforts are now concentrated on getting a few hundred people transported to Rwanda, Kinnock said in a statement.

To collaborate with foreign organizations to halt people smuggling, Labour has stated that if elected, it will establish a Border Security Command that would include personnel from the police, the domestic intelligence agency, and prosecutors.