Labour has led to a complete collapse of border control in what is a day of shame for the Government, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip has fumed. The Conservative MP told the Express: "This is a day of shame for the Labour government. Their weakness has led to a complete collapse of border control.The public are sick of being let down by Labour and are at their wits end. No wonder local people are protesting on the streets.
"It’s time for a government willing to take the tough measures needed to end this madness, and willing to do the hard work to develop plans that will actually deliver. Only the Conservatives will do both those things. We cannot any longer have tens of thousands of illegal immigrants entering the country and getting put up in hotels. This has to end." Home Office spending on asylum in the UK stood at £4.76 billion in 2024/25, down 12% from a record £5.38 billion in 2023/24, Government figures show.
The total covers all Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, plus wider staffing and other migration and borders activity.
It does not include costs relating to the interception of migrants who travel to the UK across the English Channel in small boats.
The figure for 2024/25, £4.76 billion, is more than three times the equivalent amount in 2020/21 (£1.34 billion) and is more than 10 times the total a decade ago in 2014/15 (£0.47 billion).
Responding to new immigration statistics, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said Labour had overseen increased numbers of returns of failed asylum seekers and pointed to the reduced spending on asylum.
Ms Cooper said: “We inherited a broken immigration and asylum system that the previous government left in chaos. Since coming to office we have strengthened Britain’s visa and immigration controls, cut asylum costs and sharply increased enforcement and returns, as today’s figures show.
“The action we have taken in the last 12 months – increasing returns of failed asylum seekers by over 30%, cutting asylum costs by 11%, reducing the backlog by 18% and our forthcoming plans to overhaul the failing asylum appeal system – are crucial steps to restoring order and putting an end to the chaotic use of asylum hotels that we inherited from the previous government.
“At the same time, we are bringing legal migration back under control, with a 48% reduction in work visas this year – and further stronger visa controls and higher skill requirements introduced through our White Paper expected to bring those overall numbers down further.
“As we roll out further reforms, including the new pilot with France, new counter terror powers to strengthen border security and new asylum reforms later this year (including reforms to speed up the persistent delays in the appeals system), we will continue to take the serious steps required to restore order, control and fairness to the system, and to continue building the foundations of a new and stronger approach.”