Net migration to Britain hit record highs in 2017, according to official data released on Thursday. This puts pressure on the UK government, which has made the issue a political focal point.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 1.2 million individuals entered Britain in 2022, while approximately half of them left, for a net migration of 606,000 people.
That is in spite of promises made by previous Conservative administrations to significantly restrict immigration to the UK, especially in the wake of Brexit, which its proponents hailed as a crucial step for Britain to “take control” of its borders.
Thursday’s figures forces difficult questions for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and his embattled Home Secretary Suella Braverman, both of whom have pledged to reduce migration figures.
“The main drivers of the increase were people coming to the UK from non-EU countries for work, study and for humanitarian purposes,” Jay Lindop, Director of the Centre for International Migration at the ONS, said Thursday.
This is a developing story. It will be updated…