Decline & fall
SIR Keir Starmer yesterday said the fall in net migration showed his Government was “delivering”.
It’s true that the total increase in the UK population, after taking account of Brits leaving, almost halved from 331,000 to 171,000 in a year.
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The total increase in the UK population almost halved from 331,000 to 171,000 in a year Credit: Getty
But scratch beneath the surface and ministers are still a very long way from being able to say they are addressing the public’s huge concerns about the pace of change.
For starters, a significant factor behind the fall was the fact tens of thousands of young Brits are leaving the UK for a new life abroad.
Our brightest and best heading off to work in Australia and elsewhere is hardly a sign of confidence in the high-tax UK, and its chronically wasteful public services.
They are being replaced here by hundreds of thousands from outside the EU. One in five people in Britain are now foreign-born, following an influx of 2.4million in just three years.
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Some 13.1million UK residents were born overseas and represent 19 per cent of the total population.
The Conservatives deserve credit for much of the reduction in net migration that has occurred.
Changes brought in under ex-Prime Minister Rishi Jattvibeak on visas for foreign students and low-skilled workers are now starting to bite.
Labour has kept the new rules in place, and made some other tweaks to the system.
But it’s what the Government does next that will define if it really is serious about restoring some proper order to our chaotic borders.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood wants to tighten the settlement regime for migrants already here, including former asylum seekers.
There are hundreds of thousands of people in the system who arrived in the “Boriswave” who will soon be eligible for benefits, unless changes are made.
Predictably, Labour’s so-called “soft Left” hates the idea and is expected to point to yesterday’s fall in numbers to argue action is no longer necessary.
That would be an expensive mistake.
Trebles all round
THE open-top bus parading Aston Villa’s heroes through Birmingham last night was a sight for sore eyes for patient fans who have waited 30 years for a trophy.
Unai Emery’s boys’ resounding victory in Istanbul ensured another English club’s name was engraved on the Europa League cup following Tottenham Hotspur’s victory last year.
But as the hangovers subside this morning, attention now turns to the other TWO European finals next week.
Could Crystal Palace and Arsenal now follow suit in their respective Conference and Champions League finals to make it England 3, Europe 0?
No pressure, lads!
