4m migrants flock to Britain
MORE than four million migrants have arrived in Britain since the floodgates opened in 1997, official figures show.
Numbers since the last Labour government relaxed controls equal the combined populations of Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
Over two decades net migration – the difference between those entering and leaving – has averaged 214,157 a year and is growing.
Last year it reached record of 333,000, half from the EU.
Critics said the Office for National Statistics data makes a mockery of Prime Minister David Cameron’s pledge to slash the rate to tens of thousands a year. On the eve of the historic EU referendum Brexit campaigners called on Britain to seize a “golden opportunity” to take back control of our borders and close the UK’s open door.
Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “Tomorrow’s vote is all about democracy and whether people can change anything. Nobody stood for Parliament saying four million people could come to this country.
“It’s as if the lock has been picked by a burglar and the front door has been left wide open. By leaving the EU we can put a bolt on it.”
Labour opened the country up to mass migration to enrich communities and plug gaps in the jobs market. But polls suggest it left the UK deeply divided while stretching public services to breaking point.
International passenger survey statistics show 4,069,000 people have come to the UK since Labour leader Tony Blair swept to power.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: “We will never be able to control immigration inside the EU.”
Migration Watch UK has warned of “serious consequences” over the next 20 years if Britain votes to remain in the EU.
Last year 52,000 Romanians and Bulgarians arrived here to work but only 31,000 had a job to go to. There are now 2.1 million EU nationals and 1.2 million non-EU nationals working in the UK.
Tory MP Stewart Jackson said: “These figures are truly astounding and deeply troubling. We need a fair, open Australian-style points based immigration system.’’
Ukip MEP Steven Woolfe said: “Mass migration at this level into the UK is simply unsustainable.
“The government needs to control the numbers coming to the UK to plan for infrastructure projects.”
The Home Office said: “The Government’s ambition remains to reduce annual net migration to the tens of thousands.”
MORE than four million migrants have come to Britain since Tony Blair threw open the floodgates in 1997. This mass influx is the equivalent of the entire populations of Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow combined and they have arrived in less than two decades.
Supporters of immigration will tell you that this has been nothing but a wonderful benefit to our nation. They will claim too that all those who have misgivings about this unprecedented period of demographic upheaval are simply racist.
They could hardly be more wrong, just look at what has happened to this country. The NHS is stretched to breaking point, the costs of housing have rocketed and parents struggle to find a school place for their child.
We have witnessed extremist preachers spreading hate on our streets, the establishment of ethnic enclaves that only encourage division and disharmony, and the importation of backward practices such as female genital mutilation.
It is not bigoted to want a level of immigration that does not threaten our public services and ensures that new arrivals integrate fully into British society. Nor is it wrong to want to preserve the values and culture that define our great nation.
Nobody ever voted for limitless immigration. Yet on Thursday we do have the chance to vote Leave and win back full control of our borders. We must take it.