Migration Watch UK have today launched an e-petition calling on the government to stabilise the population of the UK and, certainly, to keep it well below 70 million.The new official population projections issued last week show our population hitting 70 million in 16 years. This is on the assumption that net immigration will continue at 200,000 a year compared to almost 240,000 last year. The UK population was last estimated in 2010 at 62.3 million.
This population increase of more than 7 million is the equivalent of building seven cities the size of Birmingham or fourteen the size of Manchester or Bristol and about two thirds of it (just over 5 million) will be due to future immigration. Immigration will have to be sharply reduced to about 40,000 a year to stabilise our population.
Commenting, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said ‘Labour permitted foreign immigration of over three million in the face of strongly opposed public opinion. Politicians need reminding that this is an issue that is consistently one of the top concerns of voters and that it must be addressed, and soon. It is time to stop listening to those who support and, often, make money from the immigration ‘industry’ and consider the views of the people most directly affected. This, at last, is an opportunity for the man in the street to make his views heard where it counts.’
Notes to Editors:
1 The terms of the e-petition are:
"Over the past ten years the government has permitted mass immigration despite very strong public opposition reflected in numerous opinion polls. We express our deep concern that, according to official figures, the population of the UK is now expected to reach 70 million within 20 years with two thirds of the increase due to immigration. While we recognise the benefits that properly controlled immigration could bring to our economy and society, this population increase, which is the equivalent of building seven cities the size of Birmingham, will have a huge impact both on our quality of life and on our public services yet the public has never been consulted. So we call on the government to take all necessary steps to get immigration down to a level that will stabilise our population as close to the present level as possible and, certainly, well below 70 million."
2 100,000 signatures are required for the e-petition to be sent to the Back Bench Committee to be considered for a debate in Parliament.
3 The e-petition can be found at: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/19658
4 The 2010-based Population Projections can be found at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_235886.pdf