Immigration at this level can't go on

Even by the standards of recent years, the latest immigration statistics were extraordinary. Net migration to the UK was a provisional 672,000 in the year to June 2023, an increase from 607,000 in the year to June 2022. Perhaps more remarkably, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said net migration was even higher in 2022, at 745,000, than previously thought. Visas granted to people coming from outside the EU have surged, making a mockery of the idea that Brexit would lead to immigration falling. 

These figures are unprecedented, and population growth is now mostly driven by net international migration. When did anyone vote for that? It is putting pressure on public services and infrastructure that nobody planned for and, given the ONS’s evident difficulties in counting the numbers, they may even be an underestimate. 

It is true there are trade-offs where immigration is concerned. Swathes of the economy depend on labour from abroad, and the NHS and social care are particularly reliant on foreign workers. But it is not true that these problems are insoluble. Why are so many migrants allowed to bring dependents? Why is the minimum salary threshold for work visas set so low – at around £26,000, a figure that means huge numbers of British workers effectively have to compete with the whole world for their jobs?

Why, moreover, are we told that we need high immigration to fill gaps in the labour market, when millions of British people are languishing on welfare? Obviously, there will be some professions that will benefit from the addition of highly skilled foreigners. If labour shortages in sectors such as hospitality push up wages, that might increase costs for customers. But many would consider that a price worth paying to control the borders. 

The election results in the Netherlands show what happens when the establishment ignores the public’s concerns. They will vote for parties who are prepared to speak plainly about the matter. It is also naive to view the issue purely through an economic lens. The pro-Palestinian protests have exposed serious problems with integration that the pace of migration makes very difficult to solve. 

The Government has made a priority of stopping the Channel boats, but the number of illegal entries is tiny compared with legal ones. It urgently needs to set out what its immigration policy actually is. The Tories claim to want to cut the numbers, but their actions do not fit their rhetoric.