One of the most common misconceptions in the immigration debate is that cutting back on numbers means cutting back on skilled migrant workers. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Two-thirds of the public think immigration has been too high over the last decade, but one type of migration a narrow majority of voters […]
The latest Home Office migration statistics have been released, showing that the overall number of people coming to the UK has reduced, at least since the last set of figures. Restrictions to the Immigration Rules brought in by the Conservatives before their general election defeat have succeeded, at least in their limited aims. Health and […]
In Europe, we’ve seen the pattern again and again since 2015: Mass low-skilled immigration spurs a backlash The backlash strengthens nationalist parties, who then get 10, 20, 30 per cent of the seats in the legislature The normal political parties create a cordon sanitaire, some kind of promise not to do business with the baddies […]
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby was on Radio 4 this morning to pour oil on our troubled waters. With a national insurrection flaring into life in parts of England and police struggling to contain intercommunal violence, his words were unsurprising. Hate cannot win, the criminals assaulting police defile the flag they wrap themselves in, […]
At a recent event on the ‘future of the Right’, former MP Steve Baker emphatically declared that ‘freedom’ was the core value the Right should champion. This statement was met with applause and cheers from everyone in attendance. Who doesn’t want freedom? It is the cornerstone of our liberal democracy, and only a few discontents […]
You have to go quite far back in the political archives to find a government with a straightforward and easily defensible record in immigration. New Labour fulfilled a manifesto commitment by scrapping the ‘primary purpose’ rule in 1997, with net migration tripling the following year, and Tony Blair catastrophically underestimated the scale of movement from […]
It is little surprise that immigration, and the main parties’ approach to it, is central to the current general election debate. That is a good thing: immigration is an issue of importance to voters and the democratic process allows us to interrogate the competing policies of those vying to lead the country. Integration – how […]
Net migration this Parliament has exceeded two million, equating to immigration-driven population growth of 3% in just four years – twice the rate of the 2010s, and seven times the rate of the 1990s. Clearly, despite pledges that ‘overall numbers will come down’, the Australian-style points-based system in operation since 2020 is not having the […]
What is this election about? The Prime Minister’s campaign video set it out: amidst a moody cacophony of crises – the Covid pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Hamas’ attack on Israel –he heads to the door of Number 10, to tell the people that his actions have won Britain economic stability, a stability which must […]
Could this be an immigration election? The issue has hit the headlines the morning after Rishi Sunak announced the July 4th date for the general election. The final statistics of this parliament show net migration at 685,000, more than double the level that it was four years ago, when the Conservatives said that they would bring the […]
Earlier this week, the Centre for Policy Studies published a blockbuster report on immigration policy, ‘Taking Back Control‘, written by former ministers Robert Jenrick and Neil O’Brien, and CPS Research Director Karl Williams. The report argues that the scale and composition of recent migration have failed to deliver the significant economic and fiscal benefits its […]
According to YouGov, two in ten Britons say that immigration is the biggest issue facing the country. And with immigration now at unprecedented levels, who can blame them?Net migration has hit a record high of 745,000, while illegal immigration is up 17% from the year ending June 2022, with 85% of these arriving via small […]
Throughout the 20th century, Britain was a country of net emigration and then one of low net immigration. But after 1997, the number of people arriving started to accelerate dramatically. And since the new immigration system came into effect in 2021, numbers have accelerated even further, to unprecedented levels. While the public imagination is preoccupied […]
The atmosphere at this week’s British Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC), which involved ministers from London and Dublin, was distinctly chilly. This wasn’t particularly surprising, given that before the meeting even took place, the Republic’s Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, blamed the UK and the Rwanda Act for an influx of asylum seekers to Ireland. The Irish […]
Having promised to stop the boats, the Government finds itself in a difficult situation where the number of those crossing the Channel in small boats has increased. Between January and the end of March this year a record 5,000 people have crossed., the largest number to cross in the first quarter of the year since […]
Happy birthday, Rwanda plan! The project, as of last Sunday, is officially two years old. Were the Rwanda plan a child, at this point we could be expecting them to be ‘talking, walking, climbing, jumping, running and bustling with energy’, with a vocabulary that seems to expand faster than the universe. Yes, obviously the Rwanda […]
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