How PMs failed the migration challenge

SUCCESSIVE Tory governments have grappled with bringing down net migration.

Under David Cameron and Theresa May, there was a commitment to drive figures down to the tens of thousands. After becoming Prime Minister in 2010, Mr Cameron said he wanted to tackle migration to stop the UK’s population from rocketing past 70 million.

The net migration figure stood at 252,000 that year.

In 2011, he doubled down on the pledge, saying it would be achieved by the 2015 election “no ifs, no buts”. But when that vote came around, the number had gone up to 379,000.

This was, in part, fuelled by conflicts in the Middle East.

After announcing the EU referendum in 2015, one of the key selling points for Brexit was “taking back control” of our borders.

Leave campaigns promised that a future outside the bloc would let the UK gain stricter controls on immigration.

Mrs May had long taken a tough stance on immigration, as Home Secretary.

Promised

In 2017, net migration sat at 270,000 and for the snap election that year she vowed to drive the numbers down. But in 2018, the figure was 258,000, and by 2019 it rose to 275,000.

Boris Johnson promised to introduce an Australian-style points system, specifically to slash the number of unskilled workers entering Britain. Failing to commit to a target figure, he said that “overall numbers would come down”.

In 2020, net migration stood at 374,000. After lockdowns ended in 2021, the issue turned to gaps in the supply chain. There were questions over whether more people should be allowed to enter the country to fill them.

Mr Johnson’s emphasis was on British employers enticing more of homegrown talent into the roles with higher pay. The Office for National Statistics changed the way it recorded net migration at this time, so it was not comparable to the previous decade’s figures.

Net migration has now rocketed to 606,000. Rishi Sunak has said it is “too high” but has so far decided not to commit to a target.