Immigration fuels record population growth for second year running
The population grew by more than 700,000 in the year to June 2024 to nearly 62 million, the second largest annual increase since records began in 1949, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It was only beaten by the 821,210 increase in the population in the preceding 12 months, from mid-2022 to mid-2023, following record rises in net migration – the number of people entering the UK minus those leaving.
Almost all the population increase in the year to June 2024 – some 98 per cent – was due to international migration, with natural changes due to births and deaths accounting for only a fraction.
Senior politicians warned the huge growth in the population fuelled by migration was unsustainable due to the pressures that it placed on housing and public services.
Chris Philp, the Tory shadow home secretary, said: 'These numbers are far too high and must come substantially down. The pressure on housing and social cohesion is unacceptable. We also now know that mass low-skill migration is bad for the economy and actually costs more than it contributes.
'The only thing certain to get immigration numbers dramatically down is a hard cap on the number of visas issued, set by Parliament each year. We tabled this proposal in Parliament just a few weeks ago, but Labour voted against it.'
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said: 'This is disastrous for the quality of life for everyone. It puts impossible pressures on public services and further divides our communities.'
Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice added: 'These new mass immigration figures… are deeply concerning and have serious implications for the housing crisis, crime rates, and quality of life across Britain.
'The UK cannot benefit from, or cope with such high levels of unvetted, low-skilled immigration. We need economic policies that support British families, encourage higher birth rates, and ensure that the interests of the British public come first.'
However, Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, blamed the Conservative Government's 'failed open borders experiment' for net migration that ended up three times higher than at the start of the last Parliament. She said the Labour Government's new measures would bring net migration down further.
Measures to cut net migration introduced by the Tories have already started to reduce numbers through higher salary thresholds for skilled foreign workers and bans on students and overseas staff bringing in family dependents.
Net migration, which stands at 720,000, is forecast to fall to about 340,000 from 2028 as a result of measures that are already in place, according to the ONS.
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