LONDON, UK — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged on Thursday, May 25, 2023, to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign labour as net migration to the UK peaked at a record 606,000 in 2022, intensifying pressure on his administration.
The high migration figures follow a recent government decision to restrict visas for foreign students aiming to bring their families to the UK. Commenting on the staggering numbers, Sunak stated that the current legal immigration levels are “too high” and added, “It’s as simple as that, and I want to bring them down.”
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The Prime Minister noted that the tighter restrictions imposed on international students would have a substantial impact.
Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, immigration has been a key political issue in the UK. In 2021, net migration, the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the UK, stood at 488,000.
Jay Lindop, the director of the Centre for International Migration at the Office for National Statistics, ONS, attributed the increase to world events such as the Covid-19 pandemic’s end and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He also mentioned China’s crackdown on civil rights in Hong Kong, leading the UK to relax entry rules for British overseas passport holders.
“Unprecedented world events throughout 2022 and the lifting of restrictions following the coronavirus pandemic led to record levels of international immigration to the UK,” Lindop said.
The cessation of the EU’s free movement policy after Brexit has been cited as causing worker shortages in sectors like agriculture, health, and social care. These shortages prompted the government to loosen immigration rules to fill the void.
Yvette Cooper, the Labour Party’s home affairs spokeswoman, called the recent migration figures “extraordinary” and suggested that the government lacked a clear plan and control over the issue.
“Ministers have completely failed to tackle skills shortages or help people back into work after Covid,” she added.
Sunak’s Conservative party members are expressing concerns about the sustainability of the current immigration levels as house building in England has plummeted to its lowest since World War II.
John Hayes, a former government minister, questioned the rapid population growth, referring to pressures on public services and housing. “You just can’t grow the population at that pace,” he added.
Further complicating matters for Sunak is the increasing backlog of asylum claims, especially from migrants crossing the Channel from northern Europe in small boats.
Legal complexities have so far stalled attempts to send failed asylum seekers to Rwanda.
Sunak expressed his belief that the measures his government is taking to reduce legal migration would gradually lessen these numbers.
However, he pointed out that the issue of failed asylum-seekers was of utmost concern to UK voters with a general election looming next year.
Sunak also criticised the significant costs and resources required to house asylum-seekers in hotels while their applications are processed.
He stated, “There are lots of vulnerable people in the world that we want to welcome here and look after. We can’t do that while the system is full of people who jumped the queue.”
