Net migration to the UK jumps by nearly 100,000

Government target of bringing down migration figure to tens of thousands by the next general election now in doubt Net migration to Britain has unexpectedly jumped by nearly 100,000 in the past year to 243,000, jeopardising the government’s target of bringing down the figure to “tens of thousands” by the next general election. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures published on Thursday morning show that net migration – the numbers coming to live in Britain for more than 12 months minus those going to live abroad – has risen in the 12 months to last September from 147,000 to 243,000. The sudden leap in net migration appears to have as much to do with a slump in the numbers leaving the country, which have fallen by 50,000, as a resumption in immigration, which has risen by 50,000. The ONS said that net migration from Poland and other eastern European countries had increased to 43,000 in the latest figures compared with a fall of 12,000 in the year before. The numbers coming from Poland and other new EU states has risen from 45,000 to 72,000 while those going home have fallen from 57,000 to 29,000. This takes net migration from Poland back to the levels last seen in September 2008. The official statisticians add that immigration to Britain for work-related reasons was little changed in the year to September 2010 but the numbers of those coming to study had risen by 30%. The home secretary, Theresa May, has announced a series of crackdowns on the work and student routes as part of her drive to reach the Conservative election pledge of getting net migration down to below 100,000 by the time of the general election. But the latest figures now place new doubts on that happening. Matt Cavanagh, associate director of the Institute of Public Policy Research, predicted that the government would now take even tougher measures: “It is time the government admitted that setting a target for ‘net migration’ makes little sense, and can’t be achieved without damaging Britain’s economy. “When they set the target in opposition, the Conservatives clearly hadn’t planned for emigration continuing to fall. Today’s figures show that emigration of British nationals is down by more than 25% since 2008. “This means the government will have to take even more drastic measures to try to meet their chosen target,” said Cavanagh. “They can’t control immigration from the EU. Today’s figures show net migration from eastern Europe up over 50,000 from last year. They will find it difficult to reduce family immigration. So they will have to tighten up even further on students or skilled workers coming from outside the EU – the most valuable kinds of immigration for our economy.” Immigration and asylum Population Europe Alan Travis guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 26, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.