Tories warn UK must halt spiralling net migration as population set to top 72 million
Tories warn UK must halt spiralling net migration as population set to top 72 million
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After the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said net migration will push the population up by 5 million from 2022 levels, Chris Philp said the ‘shocking and unacceptable projection can and must be stopped from materialising’. Britain must halt a surge in its population after an official forecast predicted it will rise to 72.5 million people by mid-2032, the shadow home secretary has warned.
![[Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the rise in net migration must be halted]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/15/fb3a47ea36e0a31ed31526c476eeecb0Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3NTU3NzYx-2.78618774.jpg)
After the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said net migration will push the population up by 5 million from 2022 levels, Chris Philp said the “shocking and unacceptable projection can and must be stopped from materialising”. The senior Conservative called for a binding legal cap on the number of visas issued each year, and said millions of economically inactive adults in the UK should be encouraged back into work to lower the country’s reliance on immigration.
![[Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has also criticised rising migration numbers]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/16/78ddac1d8210b1af0ff119e7b0bea75dY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3NDc3MDI0-2.78655783.jpg)
Mr Philp said: “Ten million arrivals over 10 years is far too high. We need a binding legal cap on visas issued each year which is very, very substantially lower than this in order to get the numbers down and under control.”. His comments came after the ONS said the population would hit 72.5 million in the next seven years, up from 67.6 million in the middle of 2022, driven almost entirely by net migration.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage piled in on the backlash, warning: “The population explosion is damaging the quality of life for everyone. Both Labour and the Tories are equally guilty.”. But left-leaning think tank the Resolution Foundation said the ONS figures showed there would be a rise in the working-age population, which would improve Britain’s economic outlook and reduce borrowing by around £5bn.
