5,590 Arrivals, No Removals — Labour’s Migration Farce
Flights Leave Empty, Boats Keep Coming — Is This Labour’s Plan?
The Labour Government’s much-hyped "one in, one out" migrant deal with France was meant to show it was getting tough on illegal immigration.
Instead, the first deportation flight took off this week with zero migrants on board.
According to reports from The Times, The Telegraph, ITV, and The Guardian, a handful of deportees were removed from the scheduled Air France flight after last-minute legal challenges from charities. The plane left Heathrow. But not a single Channel migrant was on it.
“A major deterrent,” they claimed.
In reality — a major embarrassment.
⛵ Record Crossings — No Removals
31,026 migrants crossed this year up to 14 September, more than any previous year by this point.
That’s +33% higher than 2024 — and rising.
Labour promised to “smash the gangs.”
Instead, they’re smashing records.
🤝 The Macron Deal: The Numbers Don’t Work
The UK-France "one in, one out" migrant deal was announced on 10 July 2025 and came into force on 5 August 2025.
Since then:
5,590 new arrivals have crossed the Channel.
0 have been deported under the scheme.
So, for all the talk of deterrents and border control, the current scoreline is:
➕ 5,590 in
➖ 0 out
Even if a plane finally takes off, the deal means another plane comes in the other direction — carrying migrants from France to the UK.
That’s not reducing illegal migration.
It’s just formalising it.
🗲️ The Government's Answer? ID Cards.
While the boats keep coming and deportation flights get blocked, the UK Government is now pushing ahead with ideas for digital ID cards — supposedly to deter illegal working and reduce the pull factor.
They say it will start with migrants.
But ask yourself:
If someone is already:
✅ Entering the UK illegally
✅ Working illegally
✅ Evading authorities
… do you seriously think they’ll register for a digital ID?
🔽 This Won’t Stop the Boats
As I wrote in a previous post – “ID Cards Won’t Stop the Boats — Just Fool the Voters”:
“Visa overstayers won’t be stopped by a new card.
Illegal work thrives on cash-in-hand.
If people are already breaking immigration law, they aren’t queueing up for ID cards.”“You don’t stop the boats with a plastic card.
You stop them by removing the pull factor and enforcing real deterrents.”
This is not a plan — it’s a distraction.
🤦🏻♂️ Is This About Migration — or Control?
The government insists it’s “just for migrants.”
But mission creep is real.
First: migrants
Then: access to work
Then: access to services
Then: citizens too, “for convenience” or “safety”
As I warned in that same piece:
“A single digital ID could link your tax, health, banking and travel records.
It starts with immigration. It ends with surveillance.”
🎠 A PR Stunt, Not a Solution
This entire strategy is about optics, not outcomes.
Deportation flights grounded by legal action
Record numbers still arriving
No clear targets, no transparency
And now a shiny digital ID scheme to shift the headlines
It’s a familiar playbook: when enforcement fails, distract with tech
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