4 Out, 1,160 In — Britain’s Migration Merry-Go-Round
The Government boasts about removals, but arrivals keep soaring. The merry-go-round deal with France changes nothing.
The Government is claiming progress after removing 4 people to France last week. But the bigger picture tells a different story.
At the same time:
1,072 crossed the Channel on Friday
85 more arrived on Saturday
And 3 were transferred from France into the UK under the new deal
That’s 1,160 in vs 4 out — nearly 300 arrivals for every departure.
A Deal That Solves Nothing
So far this year, 32,188 people have arrived illegally on small boats. Under the “one-for-one” deal, even if the UK somehow managed to deport all 32,188 back to France, we would still be forced to take 32,188 from France in return.
The net result? No impact at all. Britain would be exactly where it started — except with the added costs of flights, lawyers, and administration.
And when you compare this week’s figures — over 1,000 arrivals against just 4 removals — the odds of being sent back are so tiny they are effectively irrelevant. For anyone making the journey, the chance of staying in Britain is close to guaranteed.
Paying Lawyers on Both Sides
Removals end up tied up in court. The Government pays for lawyers to argue for deportation — and at the same time, migrants’ legal costs are covered by taxpayer-funded legal aid.
It is a farce: the taxpayer spends money to fight those who came here illegally, only for them to be funded by the taxpayer to fight back. The only guaranteed winners in this system are the lawyers. Everyone else — especially the public — loses.
The Taxi Scandal
The waste doesn’t end there. A BBC investigation revealed asylum seekers being driven to appointments in taxis costing hundreds of pounds each. One reported journey to a GP was 250 miles, with the driver saying the Home Office paid £600.
Meanwhile, many hardworking Britons can’t even afford to take a taxi to the supermarket, let alone for routine healthcare. Millions struggle to get an NHS appointment at all — yet taxpayers are footing the bill for luxury rides while the system creaks under pressure.
It’s worth noting that the age profile of small boat arrivals is predominantly young men. This is the very group that should normally place the lowest demand on health services — yet here we are paying eye-watering sums to chauffeur them around the country.
The Home Office doesn’t even track the overall bill. But with tens of thousands of asylum seekers in hotels, the cost is certain to be enormous. And the BBC has reported the wider scale: over 32,000 asylum seekers are currently housed in hotels at an estimated cost of £5.7 million every day. The total annual bill for asylum now stands at £4.76 billion — only slightly down on last year.
Public Opinion is Shifting
When people see headlines like these — and the staggering sums being spent while public services are being cut — it’s no wonder the public are waking up.
In YouGov’s 15 September 2025 tracker, 56% of voters put immigration and asylum in their top three concerns — higher than the economy, the NHS, or any other issue.
I wrote about this in more detail here: 29% of Welsh Voters Back Reform UK. Is Plaid Cymru Calling Them All ‘Far Right’?
Immigration is no longer a fringe issue. It is now the defining concern for a majority of voters.
And remember, there have already been protests up and down the country over hotels being used to house asylum seekers. In Epping, protests erupted after an asylum seeker was arrested and charged with sexual offences after arriving in the UK by small boat. This week, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman.
Cases like this fuel public anger — because people see the risks, the costs, and the lack of control.
The Reality
When you step back, the numbers are stark:
4 deported
1,160 arrived this week
32,188 arrived so far this year
Billions wasted on lawyers, hotels, taxis, and a system that rewards failure
This isn’t border control. It’s managed decline — and ordinary taxpayers are footing the bill.
✍️ Jamie Jenkins
Stat of the Nation exists to cut through the spin and show the numbers as they are.
If you value clear, fact-driven analysis — please share this roundup with others. And hit subscribe below to get the stats first, every week.
📲 Follow me here for more daily updates:
It's not just the financial cost - that man in Epping sexually assaulted a girl and a woman. Both their lives have been destroyed. Nobody cares about them. That bloke will do a bit of time in prison where he will find lots of other blokes from his part of the world and probably with the same religious and cultural beliefs. He will be realised from his time being housed, fed, clothed and entertained and then he will be housed, fed, clothed and entertained in a part of the UK of his choosing where he will probably attempt a bit more rape and/or work for criminal gangs. The girl and the woman will just be left to struggle on with all the fear, disgust, distress that goes with sexual assault. Because they are not important in this narrative, they are merely collateral damage or available rewards for getting here (depending on your position in the pecking order).