Migration ‘behind 82% of UK’s population growth’

Labour’s open door policy added 5.4m new arrivals in just 15 years, says report

‘The elephant in the room’

IMMIGRATION is responsible for more than four fifths of the unprecedented surge in Britain’s population this century, a report claims today.

Some 82 per cent of the huge rise from 2001 to 2016 can be attributed to the arrival of immigrants and, subsequently, their UK- born children, according to research by the think-tank MigrationWatch.

Its study has exposed how the impact of immigration has been understated, and claims that of the 6.6million extra people added to the population during those 15 years, 5.4million were the result of mass immigration – the biggest ever wave of incomers.

Because the Office for National Statistics (ONS) failed to count 2.3million children born to foreign parents as migrants – giving a lower total of 3.1million, or 47 per cent of the rise – the effect of the previous Labour government’s open- door policy was not calculated correctly.

MigrationWatch, which carried out the study using official data, said it was undeniable that the huge scale of net migration had driven population growth. It said that after Labour made it easier for migrants to come to Britain, the face of the country changed as public services including schools and hospitals came under pressure and wages fell.

Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of the think-tank, which campaigns for tighter immigration controls, said the paper ‘shone a light on this elephant in the room’.

He said it demonstrated it was ‘simply not possible to discuss the state of our public services without considering immigration as a major factor’, adding: ‘ The Government have been remarkably coy about the true impact of immigration on our public services. It is almost as if officialdom preferred to avoid the issue as far as they possibly can.

‘This has meant that very few people realise that over 80 per cent of our population increase in recent years has been due to immigration.

‘The Government must get serious about reducing numbers.

‘Immigration on the current scale is rapidly changing the size and nature of our society.’

In its most recent publication, the ONS stated that 59 per cent of a 392,000 year-on-year rise from 2016 to 2017 occurred due to net migration. It attributes the remainder to the excess of births over deaths as people live longer.

Over the period covered by the report, estimates of the number of people living in the UK went up from 59.1million to 65.7million.

Figures released today by the ONS are set to confirm the Government is missing its target to cut net migration to ‘tens of thousands’.

The ONS said that in accordance with internationally recognised definitions, children born in the UK were not counted as migrants.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We are committed to bringing net migration down to sustainable levels. There is no consent in Britain for uncontrolled immigration.

‘After we leave the EU we will end free movement and put in place a system which works in the best interests of the whole of the UK.

‘We are considering options that ensure we are in control of our borders and managing migration, while continuing to attract and retain people who come here to work and bring significant benefits.’