Our country has changed
Massive changes to Britain from lax migration policies
The sheer scale of immigration in the last two decades and the rapid and lasting changes brought about by overly loose border policies was laid bare this week with the publication of data for the 2021 census. The new figures show that the non-UK born population in England and Wales has more than doubled from 4.2 million in 2000/2001 to 10 million in 2021. Of the 10 million foreign-born residents in England and Wales in 2021, 42% (or 4.2 million) arrived since 2011. And let’s not forget, these changes occurred during a decade in which the government repeatedly promised and failed to deliver reductions in immigration.
The data also show that one in six usual residents of England and Wales were born outside the UK – an increase of 2.5 million since 2011, from 7.5 million (13.4%) to 10 million (16.8%). This is less than the 3.5 million increase between 2001 and 2011 but still a significant increase of about 250,000 per year (about equal to the population of the London Borough of Westminster every year).
Meanwhile the total resident population in England and Wales grew by more than 3.5 million (6.3%) in the period between censuses, from 56,075,912 in 2011 to 59,597,542 in 2021 – and is now almost a record 60 million.
This represents significant population growth of about 350,000 per year and is nearly double the annual average population growth of 130,000 per year witnessed by the UK in the 20 years between 1980 and 2001. About 80% of the population increase is due to direct and indirect immigration (e.g. children born to immigrants).
For more information please see our summary and comment here.
Elsewhere in the news the headlines have been awash with stories about the Channel crisis. The despicable attack on a processing centre in Dover brought into sharp relief the overwhelmed and dangerous situation we now have as a result of criminal gangs making huge amounts of money from people prepared to pay to be transported in flimsy boats to cross the Channel. (See our Channel Tracking Station here.) Saving the lives of vulnerable migrants and protecting British citizens requires firm enforcement of our borders, anything less than this is a betrayal of the people.
Blog of the week
Asylum Seeker Hotel Costs In Context
Over the past few decades, the numbers relating to government spending only seem to rise and rise.
It’s all too easy for colossal sums to appear incidental. It’s only another £5.6 million, no big deal.
Yet, that £5.6 million, which is what the Home Office have admitted they are spending on hotel costs for asylum seekers (and that excludes a further £1.2 million for Afghan evacuees) every single day, adds up quickly. Over a year, in fact, at current rates of expenditure (which may yet rise further) this adds up to £2,044 billion. For more read our full blog here.
Migration Watch in the news
As you might expect, it has been a busy media week for us. See below:
The Times: Ten million residents of England and Wales born outside the UK, 2021 census shows
Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch UK, called the foreign-born figure of ten million “astonishing”. He said: “The high and uncontrolled level of immigration has meant young people struggling to get on to the housing ladder, worsening strains on the NHS and the irrevocable loss of green space.”
Mail+: One in six of us born overseas — Census reveals dramatic social shift in just a decade
‘These astonishing figures confirm that the number of overseas-born in the population of England and Wales has more than doubled to ten million since 2001.
‘The high and uncontrolled level of immigration has meant young people struggling to get on to the housing ladder, worsening strains on the NHS and the irrevocable loss of green space.
‘The Government must get a grip on immigration as they have promised, but failed, to do for over ten years.’
We were also quoted in The Sun and the Epoch Times on the same story.
On TV too:
‘We’ve got to bring it under control, not stop it, but we need to bring it under control, if we want those who come actually to integrate, to get on with life in this country.’
GB News: Is it time to scrap the witch hunt against Suella Braverman
‘Unquestionably a witch hunt going on. If you look at those who are actually laying into her, those who are keenest to get rid of her, it’s actually those who oppose what she proposes.’
Talk TV: The migrant crisis in the Channel is now an emergency
‘It’s the speed and the scale of what’s going on that is the problem.’
BBC: The Channel migrant crisis continues…
‘We’ve had over 25,000 cross the Channel over the last five months, that is why we have the problem.’
Talk TV: The situation in the Channel is out of control
‘I think she should be allowed to get on with it for goodness sake, because she’s the first Home Secretary for a while, frankly, who actually gets it.’
GB News: Was Suella Braverman right to say that we are being invaded?
‘This is a crisis, it’s an absolute crisis and merits really tough talking. It merits the right sort of words that describe what’s going on. I think Suella Braverman has done exactly that.’
Capx: Going coastal…how deprived seaside towns are bearing the brunt of the migration crisis
Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch, also underlines that Britain’s failure to eject individuals whose applications have been rejected is a powerful attraction for those with dubious claims.
Make your voice heard
It is easy to despair about the policies governing our borders. The latest census data show just how damaging the folly of our political class has been over the past 20 years. However, the government know they are on the ropes not just on the Channel crisis but the overall migration numbers. They know that the people will not put up with more failure and obfuscation about net migration. The recent shifts in the Cabinet are testament to the fact that your voice will be heard. To those who have not already done so, do write to your MP today to call for sensible border and immigration control.