Migration Watch UK: News

‘If the Tories are serious about immigration it will be in the manifesto’

Commentary

By Sir Andrew Green
Chairman of Migration Watch UK

The Times, London, 11 January, 2010

It was good to see an Archbishop give the political system a hefty kick last week. Lord Carey’s courageous intervention in support of the cross-party group called Balanced Migration certainly caught the attention of the public and gave a huge boost to their campaign to get immigration down close to the level of emigration.

He has moved the debate forwards. Instead of the usual accusations of racism there is now a more reasoned acceptance by the political class that current rates of immigration into Britain are unsustainable.

They are stressing our public services and straining our social cohesion. Now we have David Cameron saying that he does not support the idea of a 70 million population. He wants to see immigration kept within the tens of thousands. This is a significant development. He does not make stray remarks on this subject.

Indeed, he has hardly mentioned it since a major speech on population two years ago.

Nobody, least of all Mr Cameron, challenges the reality that immigrants have made a major contribution to our society. It is the recent scale of immigration that is the problem.

The latest population projections from the Office for National Statistics show that the UK’s population will reach 70 million in 20 years’ time and that just over two thirds of this increase will be because of immigration.

The Government claims that it will never happen but ONS forecasts are much better than the Met Office. Over the past 50 years their 20-year projections have been accurate to 2.5 per cent. Ministers also claim that immigration is coming down, partly due to their Points Based System. But the fall is almost entirely due to more East Europeans going home while three quarters of the PBS are student applications, which are riddled with fraud. The only means open to the Government to limit population is to limit immigration. If the Tory leader is serious he will put it into his party's election manifesto – and it will be hugely popular.

"Profile of Migration Watch"

"Alongside the TaxPayers' Alliance, MigrationWatch is one of Britain's most effective campaigning organisations.

"Its Chairman, Sir Andrew Green, has become Britain's most quoted authority on immigration questions."

See the full article

The Prime Minister's Speech Ducked the Impact of Immigration on Population

November 13, 2009

In his speech on 12 November, the Prime Minster made no mention of the official population projections which show that the population will reach 70 million in 2029. Some commentators have claimed that these projections are "meaningless". Migrationwatch research (see Briefing Paper 9.25) puts this issue in prospective and shows that 70 million is very likely unless the government take very strong measures to cut back immigration.

Should the UK stop trying to control immigration?

Migrationwatch Chairman, Sir Andrew Green, will be one of the panellists on BBC Radio 4 'Iconoclasts' programmes on Wednesday, 9 September at 8.02 pm.

This live three-part discussion programme, chaired by Ed Stourton, will examine controversial policy suggestions.

Philippe Legrain, journalist, will propose that the UK should stop trying to control immigration. His views will be challenged by Mrs Ann Cryer (MP Labour),Tony Saint, writer and former immigration officer as well as Sir Andrew.

How immigration affects population size

A UK population of 70 million remains very likely within 25 years, despite the probably temporary effect of the recession. That is the conclusion of a report issued today by Migrationwatch.

The baby boom and the International Passenger Survey figures released last week have cast the spotlight on the growth in our population. The birth rate has gone up, partly due to immigration, but net immigration is now likely to be much lower for 2008 due largely to a greater outflow of EU citizens – presumably as a result of the recession. Meanwhile, the Minister for Immigration has challenged the validity of the population projections produced by the independent Office for National Statistics (ONS). He has also given the public an assurance that the population of the UK will not reach 70 million…

See Full Press Release.

Comment by Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, on Immigration Figures

Sir Andrew said that "It is the usual government spin to claim these numbers as a success for immigration policy despite the fact that foreign immigration is virtually unchanged at about half a million a year.

What has really happened is that EU citizens have voted with their feet; the number leaving has doubled in the face of the deep recession in Britain but EU migration is something over which the government have no control whatever.

As for the government's much vaunted Points Based System, it has had very little effect so far; work permit immigration fell last year by 16,000 or roughly 3.5% of foreign immigration.

The bottom line is that the population of the UK will exceed 70 million within 25 years even at these levels of immigration."

UK's population on track for 70 million

Government’s own, new survey shows 79% of people want immigration cut

Commenting on the release today by the Office of National Statistics of data on migration, the Co-Chairmen of the Cross Party Group on Balanced Migration, Frank Field MP and Nicholas Soames MP, said: "The fall in net migration may well be temporary – as in previous recessions – but even at the present level of immigration, we are still on target for the UK’s population to exceed 70 million within 25 years. There are no laurels to rest on. The need for firm measures on immigration is unchanged. The public clearly understand this. The Government’s own survey, released today, shows 79 per cent of people want immigration reduced.

New immigration polls find nearly 80% of the British public, even in his own constituency, think the Home Secretary is 'out of touch'.

70% of Labour voters in Britain want a sharp cut in immigration.

78% of voters in Alan Johnson’s own constituency oppose his attitude to immigration.

New opinion polls, published today, show the Home Secretary is clearly out of touch with the public. Last week Alan Johnson told a House of Commons Committee that ‘he does not lie awake at night’ worrying that the population of the UK will reach 70 million and that he would not put a cap on the number of immigrants settling in the UK.

A YouGov opinion poll, conducted shortly afterwards for think tank Migrationwatch, shows that his views are completely at odds with the vast majority of the population:

- 81% are worried (45% of which are ‘very worried’) about the prospect of a population of 70 million in 2028.

- 78% say that Alan Johnson is out of touch with people like them.

- 76% want to see net immigration cut from its present level of 237,000 a year to 50,000 or less a year. Of that 76%,32% want to see a policy of “one in, one out” while 22% want to see no immigration at all.

The party affiliations are also of interest...

See Full Press Release.

Major parties help fringe groups with their silence on immigration. Immigration largely ignored in main manifestos

The three main parties are once again ignoring widespread public concern about the number of immigrants allowed into the UK in their manifestos for next week's European elections.

An analysis of the parties' manifestos on this highly sensitive issue - consistently rated among the top three concerns of the public for a number of years - finds no hint of any desire for an open and frank discussion, let alone any meaningful commitment to bring down the highest immigration levels in our history. The analysis was prepared by think tank Migrationwatch.

'Only last week a YouGov poll showed that more than 7 out of 10 adults want immigration cut by over 80%,' said Chairman Sir Andrew Green.....

See the full text of this Press Release.

Public want a massive cut in immigration. Nearly 80 per cent concerned about the issue.

A 7 out of 10 adults want immigration cut by over 80%. Just 1 in 20 adults support the current level.

The YouGov poll, which was commissioned by Migrationwatch for the Cross Party Group on Balanced Migration, found that 79 per cent of people were “concerned” or “very concerned” about the issue of immigration.

Net foreign immigration – the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants – has run at about 300,000 a year for the last five years.

See the full Press Release for the YouGov poll.