We wanted workers, but people came.
The population of the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 is now approaching 70 million. There has been an increase of 755,300 in the past year, the largest in British history. It’s no longer surprising that 98% of this growth was due to immigration. Therefore, the British people are not surprised if recent polls are accurate.
Nigel Farage might become the next Prime Minister of the UK.
Instead of debating whether immigration is good or bad, I want to present some facts and figures about immigration and explore the reasons behind the recent loud protests about it.
- Records show that until 2020, the UK’s annual immigration was around 600,000, with net immigration between 200,000 and 300,000. After Brexit in January 2021, the free movement of Europeans stopped. Many European workers left, and Boris Johnson and the Tories faced pressure from their traditional allies in the business sector.
Rather than reducing net immigration as promised during the Brexit campaign, figures increased from 240,000 in 2021 to 764,000 in 2022 and 860,000 in 2023. Gross immigration exceeded one million in both 2022 and 2023.
The core issue was that Britain produced more graduates than its skilled workforce.
The immigration of non-EU workers grew rapidly, with visas for lower-skilled roles in food preparation and hospitality nearly doubling in 2022 and 2023.
Care home worker visas increased from 20,000 to 175,000.
The minimum salary threshold was lowered from £30,000 to £25,600.
Dependents were allowed to accompany workers and students.
Furthermore, 452,000 refugees were admitted from Ukraine and Hong Kong. - The government anticipated high immigration levels, but not these numbers. In fact, the Home Office has lost control of the process, failing to foresee these figures and their impact on housing, public services, and wages.
- In my opinion, the real alarm for the government is that all this, which the Boris Johnson government allowed in, is now eligible for indefinite leave to remain.
Some estimates suggest this figure is around 801,000.
Gaining ILR means these individuals and their dependents will have access to the NHS, benefits, and British nationality.
According to some sources, this could cost taxpayers over £230 billion.
I should add that many anti-immigrant groups deliberately overlook the contribution these immigrants make to the economy and taxes. - The most surprising recent finding for me was a survey where 47% of British people believe illegal immigrants outnumber legal ones. The reality is that in 2024, 43,630 people arrived illegally, compared to 948,630 who entered legally.
- The government is currently focusing on tightening ILR rules. The Prime Minister and Home Secretary have announced plans to raise the qualifying period from 5 to 10 years.
The new criteria will include greater financial stability, proficiency in a higher standard of English, and community service.
From an immigration perspective, this is a better approach than Nigel Farage’s proposal to abolish ILR altogether, which would also mean deporting those who obtained ILR in the last decade.
This article is authored by Mr. Dost Malik, Senior Consultant. Reach him at +44 207 242 1666.