Net migration to UK hits record high of 330,000

Author (Person)
Series Title
Series Details 27.08.15
Publication Date 27/08/2015
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New official figures published in the United Kingdom on the 27 August 2015 showed that net migration to Britain had reached record or near record levels - reaching 330,000 in the year to March 2015 the Office for National Statistics said. Net migration of EU citizens showed a statistically significant increase to 183,000 (up 53,000 from YE March 2014).

The UK Immigration minister James Brokenshire described the 94,000 annual rise in overall net migration as ‘deeply disappointing’. The net migration figure was seen as politically significant, since UK Prime Minister David Cameron had renewed the Conservatives’ pledge to reduce it to the 'tens of thousands' immediately after the general election earlier in 2015. The issue of immigration was said to concern half of the UK population.

However, in ts analysis of the figures The Guardian wrote 'mass migration has been a key factor fuelling Britain’s economic recovery'.

The business organisation London First warned the government not to use the record figure as an excuse to limit the sort of positive immigration that grows the economy. London First believed the government’s attempts to clamp down on immigration posed a genuine threat to the competitiveness of both the capital and the UK.

Source Link Link to Main Source http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/27/net-migration-predicted-to-hit-record-level
Related Links
ESO: Background information: New action to make Britain a harder place for illegal migrants http://www.europeansources.info/record/new-action-to-make-britain-a-harder-place-for-illegal-migrants/
ESO: Background information: Perceptions and reality: Ten things we should know about attitudes to immigration in the UK http://www.europeansources.info/record/perceptions-and-reality-ten-things-we-should-know-about-attitudes-to-immigration-in-the-uk/
ESO: Background information: Net migration to UK rises to 260,000 in year to June http://www.europeansources.info/record/net-migration-to-uk-rises-to-260000-in-year-to-june/
UK: ONS: Migration Statistics Quarterly Report http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/migration-statistics-quarterly-report/index.html
EurActiv, 27.08.15: UK migration hits record level http://www.euractiv.com/sections/uk-europe/uk-migration-hits-record-level-over-12-months-317124
Institute of Directors: Press Release, 27.08.15: IoD – Net migration target “bizarre and unachievable” http://www.iod.com/influencing/press-office/press-releases/net-migration-target-bizarre-and-unachievable
BBC News, 27.08.15: UK net migration hits record high http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34071492
UK: ONS: Press Release, 27.08.15: Migration Statistics Quarterly Report, August 2015 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/migration-statistics-quarterly-report/august-2015/stb-msqr-august-2015.html
The Guardian, 27.08.15: [Analysis]: Migration figures: what do the numbers really mean? http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/27/migration-figures-what-do-the-numbers-really-mean
London First: Press Release, 27.08.15: London First warns on net migration figures http://londonfirst.co.uk/london-first-warns-on-net-migration-figures/
YouGov.uk, 30.08.15: Europeans think UK is toughest on immigration https://yougov.co.uk/news/2015/08/30/immigration-policy-perception/
ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

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