Ed Davey calls for UK to join EU migration pact for small boats
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey proposes that the UK should join the EU's Migration and Asylum Pact to tackle Channel small boat crossings.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey suggests the UK should join the EU Migration and Asylum Pact.
- The agreement aims to speed up asylum processes and increase returns of irregular migrants.
- Signing up would allow the UK to return asylum seekers to their first entry EU country.
- The party estimates participation costs would be around 100 million pounds per year.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has argued that the UK should join the European Union's new Migration and Asylum Pact as a strategic measure to tackle small boat crossings across the English Channel. The proposal comes as political parties continue to debate the most effective ways to manage irregular migration and curb the dangerous journeys undertaken by asylum seekers across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
The EU agreement, which officially came into force in June following nearly a decade of development, is designed to streamline the asylum process, boost the number of irregular migrants returned to their home countries, and distribute responsibility for asylum seekers more evenly across EU member states. The comprehensive framework also introduces mandatory screening and an updated database to track arrivals within the bloc
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
According to Sir Ed, signing up to the pact would grant the UK the legal mechanism to return asylum seekers to the first EU nation they entered, effectively dismantling the business model operated by criminal smuggling gangs. While acknowledging that participation would require the UK to accept a number of asylum seekers from the EU, the Liberal Democrats contend that the intake would remain lower than current small boat numbers and that all individuals would undergo rigorous screening before entering the country.
"We have a plan that would finally end the small boats crisis: a pact with every EU country that will allow us to return people who come over the Channel."
Financially, the Liberal Democrats estimate that the cost of participating in the scheme would be around 100 million pounds annually, a fraction of the 5 billion pounds spent on what the party describes as a failing asylum system. However, implementing the pact would present significant political and legal hurdles for the UK, requiring unanimous approval from all EU member states as well as the passage of new domestic legislation to standardise procedures with the European bloc.
The proposal to rejoin an EU-led migration framework highlights ongoing debates regarding post-Brexit regional cooperation. Previously, the Dublin Regulation allowed the UK to return asylum seekers to their entry point in Europe, but leaving the EU resulted in a loss of access to crucial security databases like Eurodac. Re-establishing such cooperation mechanisms requires complex diplomatic consensus and extensive legal harmonisation between London and Brussels.
Official figures show that between January 1 and August 8, 2026, a total of 14,819 people crossed the English Channel from France in small boats, marking a 43% drop compared to the same period in the previous year. Home Office data covering April 2025 to March 2026 further indicates that nationals from Eritrea accounted for 18% of all small boat arrivals, with at least 2,000 individuals identified as potential victims of human trafficking or modern slavery during that timeframe.
Source: BBC Politics
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