Today’s net migration figures, the ‘final scores’ for the previous Conservative government, are a reminder of the political repercussions of unkept promises on immigration and a lesson for Keir Starmer, British Future said today (28 November) in response to new immigration statistics from the ONS and the Home Office.
Net migration to the UK stood at an estimated 728,000 in the year to June 2024, down 20% from a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023, according to the new ONS figures (with last year’s figures revised upwards).
Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, said:
“These are the final scores of the last government, after more than a decade of making promises they could not keep on immigration. The collapse in public trust was one reason for their defeat in July. If Keir Starmer learns one lesson on immigration from his predecessors, it should be not to make promises you can’t keep.
“Starmer will oversee a continuing fall from the record levels of net migration but his challenge now is to manage the trade-offs on migration for the economy, NHS, universities and social care.
“It remains to be seen how much the public will notice a fall in visa numbers if there is no progress on controlling the much more visible Channel crossings.”
Much of the political and media attention will be focused on asylum numbers and figures for small boat arrivals. Although this represents around 8% of total immigration, the visible lack of control means it plays a much greater role in shaping public opinion on immigration. The September Immigration Attitudes Tracker survey from British Future and Ipsos found that, on average, the public think that people seeking asylum represent more than a third of total immigration (37%) when it actually accounts for only around 7%.
