Population to rise by only 400k in 25 years

SCOTLAND’s population is forecast to rise by only 400,000 in the next 25 years, raising doubts over the SNP’s plan to boost the country’s economy by luring more migrants.

Britain’s population could reach nearly 80million by 2039 as immigration continues to rocket, new figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the UK’s population could reach 79million by then – up by a fifth – if high levels of migration persist south of the Border and life expectancy and birth rates continue to increase.

This would be equivalent to adding the population of Liverpool to the country every year for the next quarter of a century.

But in Scotland the ONS figures show the population will rise from 5.3million to 5.7million by 2039 – an increase of only 7.5 per cent – and to 5.8million in 2064.

The elderly population north of the Border is growing faster than the UK average, making it crucial to raise enough public funds for key services such as the NHS, an objective thrown into doubt by the relatively slow rate of migration.

In 2014, Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘We have a long and very well understood tradition of attracting some of the best people from around the world to come and study here,

‘Head in the sand

approach’

settle here and live here, as well as sending some of our best people to other parts of the world.’

But she said that ‘unfortunately [we] don’t have control over immigration policy or visa policy’.

The First Minister said ‘we do make very strong representations to the UK Government around these issues, sometimes with greater success than others’.

Net international migration – the number of people coming to Scotland minus the number leaving – is estimated at 9,500 a year until mid-2021. This compares with 4,000 for Wales and 170,500 for England.

South of the Border, the figures drew a different response, with fresh warnings that the country faces severe strains on essential services and resources, as well as public disaffection, unless politicians begin to bring down record immigration rates.

The ONS published its full projections of expected future population size after it emerged that 1.6million immigrants are thought to have moved from other EU countries to Britain inside a decade.

Figures for National Insurance numbers given to new arrivals from the EU who need them to work or claim benefits have been running at more than double the recorded number of EU immigrants since 2010.

But ministers have declined to release information on the number of NI numbers which are ‘active’ – in other words are currently being used to pay tax or claim benefits – so real numbers remain obscure.

In England and Wales, critics say that immigration is bringing growing pressure to bear on housing, transport, power, water, education and health services, as well as putting social cohesion at risk and reducing the wages of lower-paid workers.

Lord Green of the Migration Watch UK think-tank said: ‘For far too long the Government machine has had its head in the sand about the sheer scale of likely population growth.

‘We must now face the possibility that the high migration scenario will turn out to be the correct one.

‘This would mean building the equivalent of the city of Liverpool every year for the next 25 years.’

He added: ‘This is completely unacceptable to the great majority of the public, which is perhaps why our political leaders continue to shy away from it.

‘They hope, perhaps, that the public will not wake up to it until after their time in office.’ The Scottish Government was not able to comment last night because of election purdah rules.

However, a spokesman previously said: ‘Migrants are an important part of Scotland’s future, both in terms of contributing to sustainable economic growth and mitigating the effects of demographic change.

‘We work hard to attract the best international talent to Scotland and those who choose to make Scotland their home will always be welcomed.’