Starmer rules out ‘arbitrary’ cap to cut ‘staggeringly high’ migration levels
Starmer rules out ‘arbitrary’ cap to cut ‘staggeringly high’ migration levels
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The Prime Minister has rejected setting an “arbitrary” cap to cut “staggeringly high” migration levels after the UK population was projected to grow by almost five million over the next decade. Downing Street instead vowed the Government would set out a “comprehensive plan” to significantly reduce migration.
It comes after figures suggested the UK population could reach 72.5 million by mid-2032 because of net migration. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated the rise from 67.6 million in mid-2022 will be driven almost entirely by net migration, with the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country estimated to total 4.9 million over the 10-year period.
This is compared with the natural change in population – the difference between births and deaths – which is projected to be “around zero”. The data, published on Tuesday, assumes the level of net migration will average 340,000 a year from mid-2028 onwards, lower than current levels.
The estimates mean the overall UK population is projected to rise by 7.3% between mid-2022 and mid-2032, compared with an increase of 6.1% over the previous 10 years. Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp described the projection as “shocking and unacceptable”, adding: “It can and must be stopped from materialising” as he called for a “hard, binding legal cap on visas issued each year”.
