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.

I loathe when people who claim to support migrants have their main argument be about low-paid work or to deal with the population bulge, like the rest of the world's purpose is to be cogs in the British machine

I can only speak for myself, but I’ve used this argument against those who want to completely pull up the drawbridge like we’re some sort of North Korea wannabes. It’s absolutely not because I think immigrants exist to plug the holes because that’s all they’re good for, if anything those I have met and worked with are infinitely more qualified than I am, but it’s to illustrate that those who want a zero tolerance approach have no comprehension of what their utopia would look like in reality.

if we actually want to see a well oiled country then we need to invest heavily in training regardless of nationality provided it’s the UK that benefits.

We don't have to pay for their education though, so when they're processed and allowed to work it's a net saving. Unlike the money we clearly wasted on yours.

@PrinnyPree I’d also add to that delving into why people smugglers see the UK as such a good market. Its inhabitants are the ones providing the customer bases for the associated drug and sex industries.

Perhaps we should deport all the non-working Brits? Worklessness is at an all-time high, if we want to reduce migration (which I’m not saying is unreasonable), we need to fill the jobs the current migrants are filling….

The thing with many migrants and refugees is obviously they are not going to stop coming. Many of their own countries are becoming uninhabitable, through conflict, persecution and climate change. Unless life in their own countries becomes more endurable, people will move to where they see more of a chance for life for them and their kids. And also, they are now more aware then ever before of the inequality of life on this planet, because of technology. They have seen how much better we have it. Would you stay in 50 degree heat, gasping and sweating through ever hotter summers if you knew that life was more bearable elsewhere and there was a chance you could get there. The genie is out of the bottle.

People are not longer so accepting of shit lives. There is no reward for them in heaven/Paradise.

To be fair, she's talking about the NET migration figures.

British unskilled people. Everyone has the chance of a good education in the UK. Those that complete and still have no skills need to do the Fruit picking. It might not be home but it a darn sight nearer home than it is for the person travelling from Romania to do it.....

Well people are forgetting that the care sector is really desperate for people and the agency that I have to do my care don’t have any English people can’t get any English people and majority of the women have come over from Pakistan very recently and bought their families over I don’t have a problem with that because of that lady I’m getting looked after so I don’t think immigrants are that bad. We are short of workers and maybe they could be made into working for what we need, but another thing is that apart from people on sick and disability there are young people that are not working. Why are we not doing what they did back in the day ringing the employers up and if they are literally not taking the employment up or getting sacked because it’s something they have done then they should lose their benefit

There is a problem with that though because I live in the countryside near the countryside and I’m telling you not to cut the there is no transport so farmers need to start getting mini buses and start picking people up to make people go to these jobs. it’s very difficult for people to get to these jobs or at least have some sort of temporary accommodation for British people.

Home office estimates about 33% of entries in 2022 were undetected (this is based on those who subsequently apply for asylum so again likely to be under represented) Yale university says about half of illegal immigrant entrants on average across countries are undetected across countries

I agree OP. The amount of new developments being hastily built and the sheer weight on the local services - we struggle to get doctors, dentists, schools any local services are either a long wait or non existant

I understand we help people who are from war torn countries however we never send these individuals back when war ends and they have no desire to leave

It is an economic disaster - a drowning country where we are literally downclassing our own children and ensuring they have a far worse life than we do as there will be nothing available for them

We are the laughing stock of the world and our ancestors woudl be turning in the grave the amount of people who lost their lives to keep britain great

Woke-ism is ruining this country and in another few generations we will be a third world country

slow hand clap

THIS!

I'm not keen on the low-paid jobs argument. These jobs should be paid more if they are worth doing.
However, I do think we need immigrants to deal with the ageing population. Not that it is a long-term solution because they will also have fewer children as time goes on and they will also age.

But this is part of the issue. People should have to work in this country. We need to change that culture here not ship people in.

But the illegal immigrants don’t want to work, they aren’t here to bring up families, they left all this behind, it’s mainly men here, for economic or political reasons we will find.

If you wanted to take over a country, what better way of doing it, than sending hundreds of thousand of young male troops in advance, for your enemy to feed and clothe.

Bullshit don’t start going down the far right rhetoric doing very well is because of lack of infrastructure the fact is other countries have a very high migration including Australia and they need it for employment and guess what the economy over there is booming. We could have the same if we had better infrastructure imagine having these people working building houses that we. Need

Quite. I can’t see these groups of mostly men queuing up to work in care homes.

Practically speaking, if there people don't have jobs, they will leave. The system doesn't support people who just arrived in the country so they can't live off benefits, so in essence probably net migration is less of a problem than the statistics how many British people don't work and just live on benefits, or the statistics around birth rates and aging population.

Just building on @Preppercorn comment:

"YANBU OP, but you'll be branded a horrible racist for even bringing it up, so nothing gets done year after year even as more and more people slowly realise how bad it is. I hope one day the scales fall on this and people realise it's not racist to be concerned about net migration and question whether there is a net contribution to the economy or not of all"

Unfortunately levels of immigration has now become a topic that cannot be rationally discussed without the accusation of racism being brought up.

It is correct to state that the majority of immigration is legal. From government's short term perspective importing cheap labour (NHS nurses etc) makes sense because it keeps costs down and keeps inflation down. From a company perspective it also makes sense as it keeps costs down and profits up.

A large number of posters are of the view that immigration is essential in order to do the jobs that UK nationals don't want to do. I would counter that legal immigrants are doing the jobs that nationals don't want to do at the salary being offered.

The UK currently has 9.4 million people (22% of the population) between the age of 16 and 64 that are economically inactive. The biggest proportion being long term sick with 7% of the population being economically active for that reason.

Those posters claiming that immigrants are needed to fill the jobs that nationals don't want to do are effectively writing off this 9.4 million as unemployable and throwing them on the scrap heap.

For example the average salary for an Amazon delivery driver is £12 per hour. Now let's say that all legal migration was suddenly stopped. Amazon now have a lot less delivery drivers. At this point they can simply stop doing deliveries or hire nationals at higher wages that they would be willing to work for. This of course leads to higher prices but it does save on taxes being spent on welfare benefits to the economically inactive.

On the long term sick the problem is often that nationals are unable or unwilling to do the jobs at the salaries on offer. As a result of being unemployed they start to develop health problems especially mental illnesses health problems. By getting them into work this saves money on benefits, health care, benefits the individual, benefits society and generates rather than cost tax revenues.

NO need to worry all jobs will be done by AI and robots in the future.

Exactly it’s a sticking plaster. And within a generation the same problem will exit just with higher numbers

Exactly - it is obvious there is a war coming and people are blind to it in their woke desperation to believe they are helping war torn people

We arent, we are watching a take over

No, but they could work in the housing industry we need builders we need a national building place to start building these homes we need or other industries that we need factories warehouses there are jobs

"Why are we not doing what they did back in the day ringing the employers up and if they are literally not taking the employment up or getting sacked because it’s something they have done then they should lose their benefit"

This IS happening. If you refuse a job the job centre sent you for or if you're sacked you lose your benefits for quite a while.

They took Mumsnet standard advice and got better ones.