This Thursday’s publication of the latest migration data to Britain has once again exposed the defenders of Brexit. The Office for National Statistics reported a new record of 606,000 nets in 2022, an increase of 20% on the last figure and more than double 2019, when the conservative party promised to reduce the population influx in its electoral platform. Three years later, Brexiteers’ hopes of seizing the border are far from over.
Although the figures were below forecasts, which showed more than 700,000 network entries, the results were described by the Government as “very high”. The data shows an increase in the number of citizens arriving from countries outside the European Union, mainly for educational reasons, followed closely by employment reasons. Entries for humanitarian reasons have seen a significant increase, from 9% in 2021 to 19% last year, including Ukrainian citizens.
The Office for National Statistics has reported 606,000 net entries into the country in 2022, more than double the number in 2019.
The reception of refugees was one of the arguments that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended to justify the increase. “I think the numbers are too high, but there are several things that explain the relationship. The arrival of people from Ukraine and Hong Kong has had an impact, as well as the entry of students from third countries after the pandemic,” said the prime minister in an interview on ITV. The report emphasizes the “temporary nature” of growth and points to stabilization in recent months.
We said pressure
But the pressure from the hard wing of the conservative party to control some figures, which is brought into crisis, the credibility of the formation forced Sunak to act. The government this week announced a new measure to ban the entry of families headed by people who obtain study visas, which, according to the prime minister, will mean a significant reduction in entries. “In recent years, the number of dependent family members has skyrocketed to nearly 150,000 people. From now on, this will no longer be allowed,” he said.
In addition to stopping entries through legal channels, Sunak insisted that the main priority was to end the entry of immigrants through the English Channel. “When people see the law coming through the canal, they think that the situation is not under control. I am committed to stopping the (arriving) boats, and that is why we are taking tough actions and passing laws in parliament.” he said, he explained. The British government has signed various agreements with Albania – the origin of a third of the people who arrive irregularly in the country – to commit to deportations, but the delay in processing asylum applications is increasing.
Opposition criticism
The way in which the Migration Effect manages the problem has been described by the opposition as “chaos”. Shortly after the publication of the figures, the person in charge of the internal affairs of the Labor Party, Yvette Cooper, presented an urgent question in the House of Commons to ask for explanations from the executive. “The figures show that they have no policy or authority on the immigration issue,” said Cooper, who attacked Interior Minister Suella Braverman for not attending the session.
Braverman, who represents the hard wing of the Tories and is one of the main defenders of limiting the entry of immigrants into the country as much as possible, has kept a low profile in recent days after it was discovered that he had tried to impeach him. officials from his ministry to avoid attending the busy road safety course, which he had to attend with his car due to excessive speed limits. The publication of the migration date this Thursday added more pressure to the minister, questioned by the moderate wing of the party, and also on Sunak himself, who hopes to bring back the figures as soon as possible to return to the repulse, for now it bodes ill for the formation of the conservatives.
