Stemming arrivals flow must be urgent priority

Millions of people believe Britain is the place where they stand the best chance of fulfilling their dreams. This tolerant, welcoming society enjoys security, freedom, prosperity and harmony that swathes of the world have never known, but the rate of population growth is unsustainable.

Home Secretary James Cleverly agrees, saying that the “plan to cut the numbers by 300,000” is already making a difference. A colossal 74 million people are expected to live here by 2036 – a rise of nearly 10 per cent on 2021. Over that period, 13.7 million people are expected to immigrate long term to this country, with just 7.6 million leaving.

The 2010 Conservative manifesto pledged that a new government would “take steps” to cut net migration to “tens of thousands a year, not hundreds of thousands”. Now, Downing Street says the Prime Minister believes legal immigration has been too high and “must come down quickly”. Rishi Sunak is under pressure to deliver results.

A nation of voters deeply worried about housing shortages, the pressure on public services and the speed and scale of social change will want concrete reasons to believe that he will succeed when others have not. He will face vexing dilemmas.

A Britain that simply yanks up the drawbridge would be impoverished economically and culturally, but politicians who ignore justified concern about our spiralling population do so at their peril.

The challenge for Mr Sunak is to find a sensible and effective way to bring down numbers and fulfil the Brexit promise of taking back control of our borders.