PM urged to get a grip as fugures reveal nearly 130,000 migrants have come to the UK in search of jobs
Official stats show immigration hit 633,000 in the year to the end of March
MORE THAN 127,000 jobless migrants have flocked to Britain to look for work in the past year in shock figures that sparked fresh calls for action from Theresa May.
Official stats yesterday revealed immigration remains at near record levels as Britain’s economy proves a magnet for unemployed nationals across the European Union.
An incredible 633,000 people came to the UK in the 12 months to March – including 69,000 Romanians and Bulgarians.
The number of new arrivals from the two countries topped the total from Poland and seven other eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004.
Of the 633,000 – a stunning 303,000 came for work.
But only 176,000 had a “definite job” to come to. It meant 127,000 were immediately competing with hard-up Brits for a pay packet, up 18 per cent on March 2015.
Furious campaigners and backbench Tory MPs said the figures proved the need for radical action from Prime Minister Theresa May.
And they warned the official immigration figures were only likely to be the “tip of the iceberg” given short-term and illegal immigration which isn’t picked up the statistics.
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Separate figures yesterday revealed 631,000 EU nationals registered for a National Insurance number in 2015 – which allows them to work.
The total included 224,000 Romanians and Bulgarians.
“It’s clear to see there must be controls on EU migration as well as students and non-EU workers. The
Government urgently needs to get on with Brexit and control EU migration.”
Migration Watch chair Lord Green said: “Low-skilled migration such as this adds to the pressure on public services but brings little or no benefit to the budget or productivity.”
Yesterday’s figures revealed net migration was 327,000 in the year to March – down slightly on the previous quarter but still more than three times the Government target.
The Sun revealed yesterday that Theresa May has charged new Home Secretary Amber Rudd with drawing up a new package of measures to bring down non-EU migration.
And Downing Street insisted tackling EU migration will be an “absolute priority” in Brexit talks.
Britain has no right to stop EU nationals looking for work under Brussels’ free movement rules.
David Metcalfe, the head of the Migration Advisory Committee yesterday renewed calls for a permit system to ensure low-skilled EU migrants can only come to the UK if they have a job.
He said the scheme would be “pretty straightforward” and could be modelled on a previous work permit system for seasonal agricultural workers.
Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill refused to confirm if the recommendation was among those being considered by Downing Street.
He said the figures underlined the “scale of the challenge we face in bringing immigration down to sustainable levels”.
He added: “There is no doubt there is far more to do.”
The Minister insisted the Government was cutting out immigration abuse and was introducing tougher welfare rules as well as doing more to boot out foreign offenders.
But the Office for National Statistics said the number of migrants claiming asylum in the UK in the last 12 months has soared by a third to 44,323.
Labour’s Shadow Home Office Minister Carolyn Harris said: “These figures are a reminder of Theresa May’s failings as Home Secretary.
“Once again, the Tory promise on immigration lies in tatters and net migration remains more than three times their target.
"For all the rhetoric, it is clear the Government failed to devise either a fair or firm approach to immigration.
She added that Theresa May had to devise “a comprehensive and coherent approach to migration” as part of her Brexit negotiations.
She said: “It must tackle the skills gaps, protect wages and the going-rate, support communities, control our borders and work in a fair way for everyone.
“The Government’s current approach is failing on every count.”