Nigel Farage blasts 'disastrous' immigration levels as soaring UK population sees second biggest rise since 1949

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

Immigration fuelled the second largest annual population increase in England and Wales since the Second World War last year, official figures showed.
The population is estimated to have grown by more than 700,000 people in the year to June 2024, the second largest annual increase since records began in 1949.
It was eclipsed only by the 821,210 population increase in the 12 months to mid-2023, with growth in both years driven almost entirely by record rises in the number of migrants flocking to Britain.
Net international migration - the difference between people moving to the country and leaving - accounted for 98 per cent of the estimated population increase of 706,881 people.
There were an estimated 61.8 million people in England and Wales in mid-2024, up from 61.1 million in mid-2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Some 1,142,303 people were estimated to have come to England and Wales as immigrants in the 12 months to June 2024 while 452,156 were likely to have emigrated, the figures showed.
Politicians warned the huge population growth fuelled by migration was unsustainable and would place unsustainable pressure on housing and public services.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: 'These figures are disastrous for the quality of life for everyone in the country. It puts impossible pressures on public services and further divides our communities.'
Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice described the figures as 'deeply concerning' as they '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,' he said.
'We need economic policies that support British families, encourage higher birth rates, and ensure that the interests of the British public come first.'
The ONS stats also showed there was a decrease in the number of births and deaths in the year to mid-2024, compared with the previous year.
There were slightly more births (596,012) than deaths (566,030) in the year to mid-2024, which added just 29,982 to the population.
The highest rates of population growth were in the City of London (11.1 per cent), Oadby and Wigston (3.1 per cent), and Preston (2.9 per cent).
And the greatest rates of population decrease were Isles of Scilly (-2.8 per cent), Kensington and Chelsea (-1.4 per cent) and Lambeth (-0.6 per cent).
Nigel Henretty of the ONS said: 'The population of England and Wales has increased each year since mid-1982.
'The rate of population increase has been higher in recent years and the rise seen in the year to mid-2024 represents the second largest annual increase in numerical terms in over 75 years.
'Net international migration continues to be the main driver of this growth, continuing the long-term trend seen since the turn of the century.'
Net international migration was positive in every local authority in England and Wales except South Holland, Lincolnshire.
Without net migration, the population of a third of all local authorities would have fallen, the figures show.
Birmingham the largest net international migration. It added 24,235 to its population with a total of 39,000 coming to the city from overseas between mid-2023 and mid-2024 while 14,000 left.
Newham, London, saw the largest amount of international migration as a percentage of its existing population, at 4.7 per cent.
Earlier this year, the total UK population exceeded that of France for the first time on record after it rose to 68.3 million in mid-2023.
The ONS has predicted the UK population will grow to 73.7 million by mid-2036 and hit the 70 million mark a decade earlier than previously thought.
Those projections assume that net migration will fall over the next few years from a peak of about 670,000 in the 12 months to June 2023, before settling at 315,000 a year from 2028 onwards.
Tory shadow Home Office minister Katie Lam said the ONS data showed the population is rising at 'an unsustainable pace', which is 'almost entirely driven by record levels of immigration'.
'This isn't about numbers on a spreadsheet, it's about pressure on housing, NHS waiting lists, school places, wages and it's about community and our culture,' she said. 'Britain simply cannot plan or build fast enough to keep up.'
She added: 'We must secure our borders and deliver a fair and sustainable immigration system that works for the British people.'
However Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the figures 'confirm the truth of the Tory legacy on immigration'.
She added: 'Their failed open borders experiment resulted in net migration quadrupling to a peak of almost a million per year in 2023 even as they promised it would fall.
'Since the election, net migration has come steeply down, and as part of the Government's Plan for Change we have set out new measures in the Immigration White Paper and have already changed immigration rules to bring net migration down further.
'To be successful, effective and fair, our immigration system must be properly controlled and managed. Out of the chaos and failure of the Tory past, that is what this Government will deliver.'