In the wake of the news that the UK had all-time high net migration of 606,000 last year, we launched our own petition calling for government to come to its senses and cut net migration to below 100,000 people. We will follow up with with a formal campaign launch on Thursday 8 June and go live with the new campaign website, we hope you like it.
The petition has already received 30,000 signatures; thank you to everyone who has signed it so far. if you haven’t done so, please click here to head to the petition website. Do tell your friends about it and encourage them to sign.
In the coming weeks, and months, we’ll be putting out lots more and keep you informed through this email and our social media platforms, so stay tuned.
The shocking net migration news has alarmed people around the country. We believe it has also had a sobering effect on the government, let’s hold their feet to the fire. Polling by YouGov, conducted on the 28th of May, showed that 60% of people think immigration over the past ten years has been too high. This is the highest level this polling has shown since August 2020. Another pollster, Omnisis, backs this up with a poll showing that 66% of voters agreed the Government had lost control of immigration.
If the Government thought people cared only about illegal immigration by small boat, they had better think again. Out of control, sky-high immigration is an even bigger problem and they had better get their act together and come up with policies and measures to reduce it quickly. The polls simply confirm what we have been telling them for years.
It comes to something when Labour are trusted more than the Conservatives on this critically important issue. How ironic that the architects of so many of the immigration problems today are considered to be better placed than those who have simply made them worse and added to the bad situation they inherited. And despite some useful noises on student dependants and removing the scope employers have to pay those, ostensibly, coming to cover shortages, Labour have said very little to inspire confidence. Our judgment is that in government, Labour would emulate the Conservatives and make the appalling situation they will have inherited even worse.
Writing for the Sunday Express, Leo McKinstry in no uncertain terms says:
‘For Labour to trumpet its anti-immigration credentials is like a convicted food poisoner pretending to be an expert in nutritional health. The entire stance of the party is an exercise in deceit. Far from lowering the current influx, its plans would increase it.’ Just so Mr M.
In the Financial Times, meanwhile, Stephen Bush makes the case that the Labour Party’s internal politics will make sticking to their promise of reducing immigration difficult. While the Conservatives managed 13 years of over-promising and under-delivering when it comes to immigration, Bush doubts the Labour Party would manage to tread that line even for 13 months.
The brilliant Steven Edginton writing in the Daily Telegraph, revealed that the government are actually funding one charitable foundation which has gone on to grant money to groups campaigning against government immigration policies. Since 2020, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation has received £1.36 million in taxpayer funding and gone on to support groups such as the Kent Refugee Action Network, Migrant Voice and Detention Action. You couldn’t make it up.
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Writing for The Critic this week, William Atkinson addresses the elephant in the room of the housing debate. Why is it that prominent ‘YIMBYs’ (Yes In My Back Yard, or people supportive of significant amounts of housebuilding) obsess over the supply of new houses, but rarely seem to desire lowering demand?
When did you last hear that the demand for housing would be cut at a stroke were it not for the population increase driven by immigration (nearly 7 million of 8 million over past 20 years)?
MIGRATION WATCH IN THE NEWS
As ever, our Chairman Alp Mehmet has been on the airwaves making the case against mass migration.
Talk TV – Immigrant Influx. Rishi Sunak denies he’s lost control of immigration.
“The fact is that over twenty years… immigration added seven million people to our population… That happened with an average inflow of 245,000. Once we get up to half a million, should that continue it is a no brainer to say we must reduce immigration.”
GB News –Albanian Migrant Crimewave
“They are now being detained, sent back, dealt with quickly and not being allowed to gallivant around while they wait for [asylum] decisions to be made.”
Talk TV – Migrant Crisis
“It’s the scale, the numbers, sensible measured immigration is always going to take place but the fact is the scale at which it is now happening is not in our interest.”
Along similar lines to Atkinson, in this report by Breitbart, (our new) Executive Director Mike Jones said:
“Britain does not ‘need’ mass immigration. It has a rapidly-rising population of 67 million people, and considerable reserves of unused labour. In a densely populated country like ours, population growth is putting unbearable pressure on public services, placing huge demands on scarce land and housing.”
Read his full comments in the article here.
Daily Express – True number of migrants is far higher and doesn’t include those arriving by boats
Giles Sheldrick writes about the ONS’ methodological changes to the Net Migration statistics which have resulted in lower than expected numbers for 2022 (yet still a record high).
‘But the real figure is thought to be nearer 750,000 after methodological changes make published numbers appear “lower than they otherwise would have been”.
The claim was made by Migration Watch UK, which will next week launch a campaign to cut immigration.
Chairman Alp Mehmet laid bare the crisis that awaits Britain from a decades-long failure to get a grip on migration, saying: “We really are standing on the edge of the cliff.”’
Reaction – The Tories must come clean on immigration
In last week’s Editorial Board op-ed, Migration Watch’s comments topped the article in which the team at Reaction called on the government to stop misleading the public over immigration.
‘Yet the dilemma today is about the sheer scale of immigration: it’s become a numbers game at a time when the country’s resources are stretched to the limit. If the number of immigrants can be assimilated and managed – without huge burdens on public services – then may be the current levels can be accepted. If not, then the British people…are confronted by a familiar electoral dilemma: which party should they vote for when none…will represent their interests on a fundamental issue of identity?’
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
As previously mentioned, we have launched our petition to cut immigration. Please do sign and share it if you haven’t done so already and show the government that you care about how much mass migration is changing Britain. Writing to your local MP is also a worthwhile way to increase pressure at a local level. Head here to find out how.
We wouldn’t be able to continue this work without the help of our supporters. If you would like to donate, please click the button below.
