UK population ‘set to pass 70 million’

SOCIETY: The population in the UK is set to pass the 70 million mark in the next decade but at a slower rate than previously thought, according to statistics.

The number of people living in the country is expected to rise by 4.5 per cent over the next 10 years, from an estimated 66.4 million in mid-2018 to 69.4 million in mid-2028.

THE POPULATION in the UK is set to pass the 70 million mark in the next decade but at a slower rate than previously thought, according to official statistics released yesterday.

The number of people living in the country is expected to rise by 4.5 per cent over the next 10 years, from an estimated 66.4 million in mid-2018 to 69.4 million in mid-2028, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

This means the population is projected to pass 70 million by mid-2031, reaching 72.4 million by mid-2043.

But according to the predictions – published every two years – the annual growth rate for the UK population is projected to drop from 0.60 per cent in mid-2019 to 0.27 per cent by mid2043.

The country’s population growth rate is also slower than in projections made in 2016, with the expected population anticipated to be 0.4 million less in mid-2028 and 0.9 million less in mid-2043.

The pace of growth is expected to slow based on assumptions that women will have fewer children, in light of recent falls in fertility rates, and a slower rate of increase in life expectancy.

In the 10 years between mid2018 and mid-2028, the projections for the UK suggest:

■ 7.2 million people will be born.

■ 6.4 million people will die.

■ 5.4 million people will immigrate long-term to the UK.

■ 3.3 million people will emigrate long-term from the UK.

During this time, net international migration is expected to account for 73 per cent of the UK population growth, while more births than deaths could account for 27 per cent.

England’s population is anticipated to grow quicker than the other UK nations: five per cent between mid-2018 and mid2028, compared with 3.7 per cent in Northern Ireland, 1.8 per cent in Scotland and 0.6 per cent in Wales. There is expected to be a growing number of older people, with the proportion aged 85 and over projected to almost double over the next 25 years.

Anna Dixon, the chief executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said the figures showed the age of the population was “dramatically shifting”, which posed major questions for society.

Anna Dixon, chief executive at the Centre for Ageing Better.

She said: “These longer lives are a huge opportunity, but big changes are needed to our workplaces, homes, health services and communities if we are to ensure that everyone is able to age well.

“We also need to rethink our attitudes to age, and tackle the ageist attitudes which hold back too many people from enjoying a good later life.”

Alp Mehmet, the chairman of Migration Watch UK, branded it a “staggering projection”, warning of the pressure rising numbers could place on housing, transport, schools, university places.

A spokesman for the ONS said: “The UK population is projected to grow by three million people by 2028. This assumes migration will have a greater impact on the size of the population than the combination of births and deaths.

“Although migration declines at first and the number of births is stable, the number of deaths is projected to grow as those born in the baby boom after World War Two reach older ages.

“The population is increasingly ageing and this trend will continue.

“However, because of the expected rise in the state pension age to 67 years, it is projected that slightly fewer than one in five people will be of pensionable age in 2028, a similar proportion to today.”

We need to tackle the ageist attitudes which hold back too many.

THE charade in the House of Commons clearly showed to the British people that their highlypaid representatives regard them as being simpletons whose opinions are of no consequence.

The utter betrayal of the 17.4 million who voted to leave the EU, with or without a deal, is shocking. Even more amazing is to hear these betrayers of our democracy calling for yet another referendum, despite totally ignoring the results of the first referendum.

The clever and devious methods used by these politicians to thwart our democracy are astonishing. Sadly they think they can betray their constituents with impunity. They are so wrong!

Oh dear, what fools they are making of us. Not only have they overturned the will of the majority of British people, but I am afraid that their machinations are also destroying the ordinary person’s belief in democracy, a dangerous mistake to make and one that could have catastrophic results (Tom Richmond, The Yorkshire Post, October 21) for British politics and the British nation in the future.

From: Dr David Hill, CEO, World Innovation Foundation.

THE problem with Brexit is that the people do not get the full facts from the media or from our politicians.

Whether that is due to ignorance I am not sure, but the people need to know the other side of the story or otherwise they too are politically ignorant.

For when you look into the text of the Brexit treaty, all other negotiated ‘free trade’ deals agreed from around the world give the EU powers to stop any trade deal if it is disadvantageous and detrimental to the EU.

Therefore we have not achieved ‘free trade’ deals unless the EU allows them and where specifically the UK has no economic advantage over the EU.

From: Phyllis Capstick, Hellifield.

IT seems to me, as things stand, that not one of the three main political parties have any intention on delivering the democratic decision of the people of this country. Remain means Remain. Leave means Leave and nothing more. It has to be Remain fully or to Leave utterly and completely. One or the other. In any democratic country, democratic decisions must be adhered to, or we might as well give up.

From: Henry Cobden, Ilkley.

SO Northern Ireland’s DUP and Arlene Foster, who isn’t a MP, are now the power-brokers in Westminster. Did anyone vote for that?