Four-fifths of population growth in the UK is the direct and indirect result of immigration – see our paper and the most recent ONS population projections.
Immigration added more than a million people to the UK (about equivalent to the population of Birmingham) every 3 years between 2001 and 2016 (more here).
The population hit a record 66.4 million in 2018. It rose by more than 4 million - equivalent to nearly half of London's population - over the past decade.
At current levels of immigration the UK population is projected to rise by a further 7.5 million over the next twenty years.
80% of this increase, some six million additional people, would be due to immigration – equivalent to doubling the populations of Greater Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leicester and Sheffield.
The UK is already the most crowded large country in Europe.
64% say the population is increasing too quickly; nearly three-quarters say the UK is crowded (YouGov polls, 2016-18)
Every serious study dismisses immigration as a way of addressing an ageing population. It would amount to a giant Ponzi scheme requiring continuous and ever-increasing flows of immigration, as previous arrivals themselves age.
The answer to an ageing population is for older people to work longer as many prefer to do. Employers need to adjust.
A sharp reduction in immigration is an urgent necessity in order to slow overcrowding, preserve our quality of life, save our beautiful green countryside and ease pressure on vital public services.
