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| Britain |
| Net migration to UK hits record high - New Conservatives group of more than 20 MPs says surge in numbers represents existential threat to party |
| 2023-11-26 |
| [Telegraph] Net migration has hit a record high, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is estimated to have hit 745,000 in the year to last December, revised figures show. The previous estimate for the year had been 606,000, but the ONS has since raised this in light of "unexpected patterns" in the behaviour of migrants. The new figures also reveal that net migration to the UK stood at a provisional 672,000 in the year to June 2023, up from 607,000 in the previous 12 months. The June 2023 figure is nearly three times the pre-Brexit average of 200,000 to 250,000 a year, and blows apart the Government’s 2019 manifesto pledge to bring down the overall rate of net migration from its then level of 226,000. The surge in net migration has contributed to the biggest annual increase in the population in England and Wales since 1962, a peak year for baby boomers. According to the ONS, the population rose by 578,000, or one per cent, to 60.2 million in the year to mid-2022. "Unlike in 1962, when the increase in population was largely because of a high number of births, the population increase in mid-2022 is mostly driven by an increase in net international migration," said the ONS. The surge has been fuelled by 1.4 million migrants, primarily from outside the EU, granted visas to enter the UK to study, work or escape conflict or oppression. The ONS estimated that 508,000 people emigrated. The figures will intensify pressure on Rishi Sunak to introduce radical new measures to reduce the number of workers and their dependants being granted visas to live and work in the UK. In a statement, the New Conservatives group of more than 20 MPs said that the surge in net migration represented an existential threat to the party and demanded an emergency package of measures to reduce it. "High rates of immigration depress wages, reduce investment in skills and technology, put unsustainable pressure on housing and public services, and threaten community cohesion," they said. "The word ’existential’ has been used a lot in recent days but this really is do or die for our party. Each of us made a promise to the electorate. We don’t believe that such promises can be ignored. "The Government must propose, today, a comprehensive package of measures to meet the manifesto promise by the time of the next election. We will assess any such package and report publicly on whether it will meet the promise made to the electorate. "The Prime Minister, Chancellor, and new Home Secretary must show that they stand by the promises on which we were elected to Parliament. We must act now." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #4 Nigel Farage could change the political landscape in the UK, if he chooses to. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2023-11-26 21:52 |
| #3 threat to the party That's the whole idea, innit? |
| Posted by: KBK 2023-11-26 21:19 |
| #2 It sounds like these are just the legal immigrants, not the illegals slipping across the Channel in barely seaworthy boats or hiding in delivery trucks. How many more were allowed by that fake conservative to enter illegally? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2023-11-26 10:16 |
| #1 MPs says surge in numbers represents existential threat to party "Threat" to the country. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-11-26 08:41 |