Migration Watch UK
June 08, 2023
New Migration Watch UK projections (see MW514 - Record net migration and the rising demand for housing) suggest UK population on course to rise by nearly 16 million by 2046 at the present level of net migration
It would mean the need to build housing equivalent to at least 15 cities the size of Birmingham over a 25-year period
At least 260,000 more homes would be needed per year just to cope with population growth – driving extra pressure on roads and public services.
Today marks the formal launch of the “Campaign to Cut Immigration.” (Go to www.cutimmigration.co.uk for more details).
With net migration now running at over 600,000 a year, the most glaring result will be a worsening of the housing crisis with new Migration Watch UK projections suggesting that the UK population is on course – on present immigration levels – to shoot well past 80 million by 2046.
This would mean the need to build housing equivalent to at least 15 more cities the size of Birmingham over the same period.
Our labour market has been deliberately opened to the entire world with no limits on numbers and at much lower levels of qualifications and salary. This government have even abandoned the previous requirement that employers should first advertise vacancies on the domestic labour market – in other words, complete capitulation to employer demands.
Meanwhile the government are trying to keep the focus on Channel crossers to obscure the fact that legal immigration is at least ten times higher and is clearly out of control.
A new Migration Watch UK report finds that if net migration remains close to last year’s record level of 606,000 (the highest ever) and the birth rate remains at around the present level, nearly sixteen million people would be added to the population of the UK over the next twenty-five years – that is approaching twice the current population of London.
As for housing, there would be a requirement for 6.5 million more homes, which would require the construction of about 260,000 homes per year just to cope with population growth over the period - or nearly 720 per day.
However, reducing net migration of 100,000, as Migration Watch recommends, would avoid adding yet further pressure to the very serious housing shortage that we now face.
As Migration Watch UK has previously pointed out, over the 20 years since 2001, the UK population increased by 8 million of which nearly 7 million was due to immigration – that equates to the populations of Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Leicester, Liverpool, and Newcastle plus Peterborough, Ipswich, Norwich, Luton and Bradford. A similar, indeed much higher, population increase can now be expected in future years unless immigration s sharply reduced.
Indeed, immigration has already taken place on such a rapid scale that Baroness Louise Casey’s report in 2016 found that some areas had changed “beyond recognition in a short space of time.” In London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester overseas arrivals and the children of migrants already constitute the majority. The scale and nature of our population are rapidly changing without the consent of the majority. It is very hard to see how change at this scale and pace can possibly serve the wider interests of our community or help integration.
These issues, and many others, help explain why 60% of the public want to see lower levels of immigration. Yet, they have been ignored. It is why our new campaign invites the public to sign a petition calling on the government to cut net migration to no more than 100,000 a year.
Accordingly, a new website has been opened at www.cutimmigration.co.uk
This sets out our case for reducing immigration to 100,000 a year and describes the many problems that have arisen due to the sheer scale of immigration. More analysis and briefing will follow in the course of the campaign.
Our petition to reduce the scale of net migration to 100,000 or less has already received tens of thousands of signatures. It can be found here: https://cutimmigration.co.uk/petition/
Commenting, Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch UK, which is leading the campaign, said:
The impact of runaway, mass, immigration is huge, and housing is just one aspect of our lives that is adversely affected. But, if net migration were reduced to 100,000 per year or less, the housing shortage would be no more; the pressure would lift - at a stroke. Young people would have better prospects of getting onto the housing ladder. And more of our beautiful countryside would be saved for future generations.
This is why the public want immigration to be cut and they have been ignored for far too long. The ‘cut immigration campaign’ with our petition is their opportunity to send the government a loud, unambiguous message that enough is enough. If the government fail to act now the fundamental changes to our towns and cities and, indeed, to Britain itself will accelerate even further.