To be shocked at the net migration figures currently being discussed

[Feelingathomenow]

Yesterday’s figures discussed by the Tories stated that since 2010 the net migration figures to the UK has equalled the size of the population of Wales. Today we were told the figures to June 2023 showed a net migration figure of nearly 1 million for that year, for the year to June 2024 this had reduced to a mere 3/4 of a million. The numbers coming in of the boats per year alone is equal to a large town. AIBU to think this has to stop. We need to immediately crack down on people allowed into this country- limit it to urgently needed highly skilled jobs and start offshore processing (or similar) of the people who are here illegally (basically like many other countries).

We just can’t cope with those numbers. - no wonder our infrastructure is collapsing, we have a housing crisis etc.

I want to hear from the government how they are going to tackle it. We have heard from the Tories now it is over to Starmer.

you're a bit unreasonable to be shocked now. this has been going on for years. it's too late now.

The figures are net, ie have already taken account of people leaving. So if net migration is 1million and 500k people left that means 1.5 mill people have come into the country.

Ok, so what do you suggest?

Incorrect or misleading to say this

“A much greater proportion of retired individualswere net recipients (89.2 %) in comparison with non-retired people (46.0%), largely because of the classification of State Pension and Pension Credit as cash benefits.”

state pension is counted as a cash benefit which is misleading as the recipient already contributed towards it (it’s their money!) should not be counted.

secondly even stripping them out it’s 46% out working age people which is…. still unsustainable

It's a nonsense for students to be in the net migration figures as these days there is no route for them to stay for more than a couple of years after their course ends. If their course means they stay a year and a day, they're counted as migrants.

how many of those million people are self sufficient and can support themselves, pay bills, pay rent, buy their own food? We looked at moving to Canada a decade ago and would have needed substantial savings, ability to support ourselves and doing a job which they couldn't get a local to do. And i mean specialised, degree level
work, like medicine, engineering etc. Other countries have much stricter protocols.

I'm talking about people who pack up their entire lives and go and live in a country where they know nobody, don't speak the language. are not sure if they can even stay and have no idea how their life is going to work out. Do you think people undertake something like that flippantly, just because they feel like it?

I’m talking about the migrants in the many hotels we naturally have living by the coast. And yes stopping the boats would help. Probably 10% seem to be coming in this way.

I don't have strong feelings about immigration, but I'm always amused by statements like this.

Yes, it may surprise you to know that many of us know plenty of people who not only WOULD do those jobs, but actually do currently do them.

I can only assume people who say such things have very limited life experience and/or are very sheltered

But it isn’t an abstract fear in many cases. It’s objectively the case that immigration is not always good, particularly when there are large numbers in a short space of time. In 2023 a million people entered the country and about 200,000 new houses were built. If the infrastructure isn’t there immigrant labour is not a net benefit to our society.

The UK is not ‘built on immigration’ unless you go back about 1000 years. Until about 50 years ago there was very little immigration. Even in the last 20 years, immigration has exploded compared to previous decades.

As a separate point, if we rely on huge numbers of immigrants to maintain our population and do our jobs, that means our society is not self-sustaining and is in terminal decline.

A big reason for the sharp surge in numbers post BREXIT was the increase in dependents being brought in.

You can make a case for needing immigrants to prop up a welfare system, but if a high % of immigrants brings in dependents who are unlikely to pay tax and are likely to consume a lot of expensive welfare services…..well, you can see the problem!

A few things the UK should do….

Have proper exit checks so you actually know who is coming in and going out
Have a proper ID card system and make life extremely difficult for anyone without one by requiring ID cards (with chips) to be presented for all kinds of actions and activities
Rejoin the EU as a long term goal; in the short run, build up strong relations and work cooperatively with France to stem illegal crossings and with the EU to orchestrate a better policy on migration
Stop people bringing in dependents unless they are high earners who tick a lot of boxes
Have some hard national conversations about working longer. This forum is full of 50-somethings gleefully chirping about their early retirement, while everyone congratulates them and says YOU GO, GIRL! You are not going to cut migration while that goes on
A lot of welfare services should be available only to those who have lived here and paid tax for a certain length of time, and in the long run should probably be contribution-linked in some comprehensive way. Stuff like council housing should not be handed out to recent arrivals; if someone is eligible for council housing, frankly it begs the question of why they are being offered legal residency.

All the above will be hard for various groups in society. A lot of conservative older people simply hate the idea of ID cards or working longer. A lot of left wingers get very upset if you try to talk about the fact that (for example) most council housing in central London is going to non British born ppl who are not in employment.

Yes, and that kind of migration is fine. If you can speak the language, understand and are willing to assimilate to the culture. Have a high level of education and a useful job that we need doctor, dentist etc. But the lack of drs, dentists etc indicates these people aren’t making up the majority

Those are legally present asylum seekers.

I wish the media would show (or the government would provide) more context to these figures. Eg how many people entered on each type of visa? That would immediately help people understand more about what’s happening.

Also workforce figures - in particular how many people retire each year? How many jobs are vacant in key industries? Our population will keep growing as our elderly population does as we need more new people to keep things on the road.

Unskilled migrants are not a major part of our immigration. We don’t offer them visas.

I would have written shaped, rather than founded - but the point is a sound one.

The UK has been shaped by successive waves of immigration over centuries. Take a wander around London and note the French street names or names reflecting textile work - and consider French Huguenot immigrants in the late 17th C. Or think about the impact on cities such as Leeds and Manchester of the large influx of Eastern European Jews in the late 19th C. Any time spent in Liverpool should make you aware of very old and well established Chinese and Black communities, as well as Scandinavian and south Asian sailors, Green merchants and Italian retailers.

Some people talk as though there was little migration following the the arrival of the Vikings until the post-war Windrush migrants. That is a very inaccurate interpretation of British history.

Can I ask how you worked out that figure?

There’s a mass shortage of those skilled professionals across Europe The UK is at an extra disadvantage as we have extra barriers to employment now.

Middle class office bod ideas that no white British people do these jobs

Austerity was terrible but it’s not the case that there are pots of cash that could be spent on public services. There just aren’t.

But these were tiny pockets of immigration and weren’t big enough to shape society. The street with a French name is probably where ther all lived. Yes we have had migration but it’s been on a tiny scale.

Yes but the numbers were absolutely tiny in comparison to what we’re seeing now. The arrival of a few thousand Huguenots over 50 years does not mean the uk was ‘built on migration’ in the way America was.

Yes sure. On average we are recording 30-40,000 people crossing on boats each year, we are apparently recording about half of those actually crossing illegally so say 75000. Net migration is about 750,000 so 10%

People are living in their small villages etc completely clueless, champagne socialists.

wait until you live in somewhere like East London where literally nobody speaks English, every sign is in Bangladeshi language etc. I too was a former leftie who didn’t believe it till I saw it whilst visiting

Illegal immigration is an issue but so is the legal, people bringing in tonnes of dependents (usually women) who don’t work and have no intention of doing so. Over 50% of women in London’s Tower Hamlets borough don’t work. 30% of the borough is economically ‘inactive’.
these are people who don’t even want to contribute anything to a British society or values, they want to live completely seperately but have all the perks of our country’s generous welfare system. It’s heartbreaking, really. These people don’t speak any English yet somehow have brand new build council properties, PIP, other benefits etc, how? Why are gov and council departments supporting this?
we are an island and have to start protecting and supporting British born people.

people are literally stupid if they don’t see what’s happening here and we are sleepwalking in to a disaster, which I sadly fear may already be too late.

These are the visas that people can apply for now:

Work in the UK - GOV.UK

For the people who think this is fine, is there any limit where you’d think ‘this is too much’? If the UK population hits 100 million is that ok? Or do you think we’ll reach a level of population density that means the UK will be naturally less appealing anyway, so no official limits are needed?