Figures out today from the Office of National Statistics regarding the numbers of East Europeans coming to the UK are ‘simply not credible’ says think-tank Migrationwatch.
They show, say the ONS, that in the period mid 2005 to mid 2006 there was a fall of 17,000 to 57,000, which amounts to only 1 in 5 of net foreign immigration of 281,000.
In the same period approximately 210,000 East Europeans registered for work. This total does not include the self-employed, nor dependants.
‘It is simply not credible that only 57,000 stayed on,’ said Migrationwatch chairman, Sir Andrew Green.
‘The explanation may lie in the fact that the passenger survey asks about intentions. There is anecdotal and survey evidence to suggest that East Europeans often come on spec and decide to stay longer.
‘This once again highlights that the Government has no real grip of immigration or any meaningful idea of the true number coming to and leaving the UK which makes planning for these large population increases extremely difficult.’
He said the ONS press release was also misleading in suggesting that immigration contributes only 55% of population growth. This figure only includes new arrivals, ignoring the children that they will later have. Other work by the ONS shows that immigrants and their descendants will account for about 83% of population growth (Population Trends number 118, page 11.
Finally, the net immigration figure of 189,000,remains consistent with the government’s estimate that, over the next 20 years, 1 in 3 new households will be a result of immigration.
‘It is clear from these figures that immigration is continuing unchecked and continues to break all previous records – despite the fact this is opposed by the vast majority of the public,’ he said.