The claim that "the Conservatives lost control of the UK's borders over 14 years" is a political characterisation rather than a precisely measurable fact, but it rests on substantial supporting evidence about the Conservative governments' record on immigration and asylum between 2010 and 2024. Key facts that support the underlying assertion: - The Conservatives repeatedly pledged to reduce net migration to the "tens of thousands" (David Cameron, Theresa May) and later promised "overall numbers will come down" (Boris Johnson). These targets were never met: net migration remained above 200,000 for most of the period and peaked at a record high of 944,000 in the year ending March 2023 (ONS / House of Commons Library). - Small boat crossings of the English Channel, which began at significant scale only in 2018 (299 people), rose sharply to a peak of around 46,000 in 2022 and remained high (~36,800 in 2024, ~41,500 in 2025), despite repeated pledges to "stop the boats" (Home Office / Migration Observatory / House of Commons Library). - The asylum backlog reached record levels, peaking at around 175,000 people awaiting an initial decision in mid-2023, up from 22,676 cases in mid-2018 (Home Office immigration statistics). However, the sweeping phrase "lost control" is a partisan judgment rather than a neutral description. Important qualifications: - Some drivers of high migration were partly exogenous or humanitarian, including the Ukraine visa scheme and the Hong Kong BNO route, as well as post-Brexit labour shortages in health and social care. - The Conservatives did introduce a substantial package of visa restrictions in 2024 that contributed to a sharp fall in net migration (down to 431,000 for the year ending December 2024, and 171,000 in 2025), showing that policy did affect numbers (ONS / Migration Observatory). - "Control of borders" is not a single defined metric; legal migration levels reflect deliberate policy choices (e.g., liberalising work visas for care workers) as much as a lack of control. Because the underlying facts (missed targets, record-high net migration, rising small boat arrivals, and a record asylum backlog) are broadly accurate, but the claim is expressed as an unqualified political verdict that ignores exogenous factors and later policy effects, the most accurate assessment is partly true and partly false. Sources: House of Commons Library, Migration statistics (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06077/); House of Commons Library, Statistics on small boat Channel crossings (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10590/); ONS blog, What's driving the fall in net migration? (https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2025/05/22/taking-a-look-at-what-is-driving-the-fall-in-net-migration/); Migration Observatory, Long-term international migration flows (https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/long-term-international-migration-flows-to-and-from-the-uk/); Migration Observatory, People crossing the English Channel in small boats (https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/people-crossing-the-english-channel-in-small-boats/); GOV.UK, Immigration system statistics year ending June 2023 and December 2023 (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-june-2023/how-many-people-do-we-grant-protection-to; https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2023/how-many-people-do-we-grant-protection-to); BBC News, Migration: Moving target Tories keep trying to hit (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65714903); The Conversation, Hostile environment, Brexit and missed targets: 14 years of Tory immigration policy (https://theconversation.com/hostile-environment-brexit-and-missed-targets-14-years-of-tory-immigration-policy-231407)