Another year, another betrayal on mass migration.
The ONS has announced the latest legal migration numbers, at 672,000. I’d say these numbers are shocking. But we shouldn’t be shocked. In fact, importing hundreds of thousands of migrants – and smashing new records for the level of inward migration into the UK – has been par for the course for the Conservative Government.
Rishi Sunak has sought to style himself as a different kind of politician, breaking away from the chaos of the Truss and Johnson years. But when it comes to our borders, he’s the perfect continuity candidate.
It’s been politically useful for the government to give the impression that they take net migration seriously: take the appointment (and removal) of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, dubbed “Cruella” by the Left-wing press for her seemingly tough stances on border control.
But Suella Braverman’s rhetoric turned out to be just that – rhetoric. Measured on the numbers, she proved herself to be the most pro-immigration Home Secretary the country has ever had.
Boris Johnson – the hero who oversaw our withdrawal from the European Union, and our last directly elected prime minister – bears a significant proportion of blame for today’s figure. After all, it was under his leadership that the state relaxed many of the visa requirements responsible for our current surge.
The introduction of the social care visa, reduction of the salary threshold for workers, and relaxation of student visas have all contributed to today’s number. Yes, the party of ‘taking back control’ managed to triple immigration from our pre-Brexit peak.
Mass immigration has fundamentally transformed Britain. In 1991, around 7 per cent of people living in Britain were born abroad. According to our latest census data from 2021, that share has risen to 16.8 per cent.
This transformation has always been pursued without public consent – and in many instances operated in direct opposition to it. No government since 1997 has been elected on anything other than a platform of controlling legal migration. And yet, within months of taking office, their manifesto promises would be unceremoniously shelved.
Telegraph journalist Poppy Coburn gives her view on the latest migration numbers.
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