Nigel Farage has claimed the arrival of so-called “Starmer boats” exposes “total unfairness” in Britain’s asylum system as Channel crossings edge towards a new record.
Speaking on GB News, Nigel said the UK is now fewer than 200 arrivals away from Sir Keir Starmer becoming the Prime Minister under whom the most migrants have crossed the Channel.
His comments come as GB News exclusively revealed that the first wave of small boat migrants of 2026 has made it to UK shores after crossing the Channel in sub-zero temperatures.
Around three dozen illegal migrants reached the UK just days after it was revealed that 2025's total reached a staggering 41,427.
Speaking on The People's Channel, Nigel said: "Well, the first boat arrived yesterday across the English Channel into Dover Harbour. Actually, it was singular. We have some exclusive footage of that, but it is quite interesting.
"We are now fewer than 200 people away from Keir Starmer becoming the Prime Minister under whom the most people have crossed the English Channel.
"So I think very soon we will be calling these the 'Starmer boats' in every sense. But here’s the thing and this might surprise you.
"Of all the people claiming asylum in Britain, only around 40 per cent arrive by small boat. Others come in the back of lorries.
Nigel Farage said it shows the total unfairness
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"There is even an advert circulating on TikTok telling people to follow simple drills showing how easy it is to get to the UK.
"Personally, I am not sure I would be keen on running along and jumping into a lorry, but perhaps if I were 18 and fit, it would not seem very difficult. So people are coming to Britain in the backs of lorries.
"The biggest issue, however, is people arriving from Pakistan and elsewhere on visas, then overstaying and claiming asylum.
"Either way, we have a massive problem and a Government that says it is committed to reducing the number of migrants in hotels, despite the fact that there are more in hotels today than when they won power on July 4 last year.
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The first small boat crossing of 2026
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"Now, the latest scheme involves spending hundreds of millions of pounds buying brand new council homes to house people who cross the Channel or arrive in lorries.
"Brighton, Hove, Hackney, Peterborough and Thanet have all agreed to take part.
"This is the kind of story that, when it reaches the British public, creates a sense of total unfairness at every level particularly when there are currently 1.3 million people in Britain on social housing waiting lists."
The first arrivals of the year have piled fresh pressure on Sir Keir Starmer’s Government to regain control of the Channel crossing crisis.
Reform UK’s Chief Whip Lee Anderson told GB News there was little surprise migrants continued to make the journey, accusing the Government of rewarding illegal crossings.
He said: “Is it any wonder illegal migrants keep coming when this spineless, treacherous Government is talking about building social housing for people who cross the Channel illegally? This invasion will never end under this Government.”
Mr Anderson added that communities would continue to suffer the consequences, claiming the cost would ultimately be borne by “decent, hardworking Brits”.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also criticised the Government, warning the latest crossings showed ministers had “no control of our borders whatsoever”.
He said the Prime Minister had admitted there was no effective deterrent in place, arguing this was why illegal migration continued at scale.
Mr Philp insisted the only solution was to leave the European Convention on Human Rights and deport all illegal migrants within a week of arrival, claiming that would bring the crossings to an end.
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the UK will “turn a corner” this year on a series of matters including the migrant crisis.
The Prime Minister issued a defiant statement to his frontbench colleagues in his first Cabinet meeting of 2026.
The Prime Minister said: “A Labour Government renewing the country or a Reform movement that feeds on grievance, decline and division.
“They want a weaker state, they want to inject bile into our communities, they want to appease Putin.
"This is the fight of our political lives and one that we must relish.
“I do not underestimate the scale of the task. But I have no doubt about this team. Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither.”