Shocking statistics show that not only has the government lost control of illegal migration, it also has a bad grip on legal migration

REMEMBER when we were told that voting to leave the EU would mean we would “take back” control of our borders?

Most of us assumed that this would mean a drop in immigration.

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Who would have thought that the government would take things the other way?

New figures this week show net migration to the UK is at an all-time high.

More than half a million people (504,000 to be exact) attended during the year through June of this year.

The previous record was 390,000 in 2015.

There are so many things about these numbers that are stunning.

The first is their historical greatness. No country can absorb immigration of such scale and speed without becoming a radically different country.

The second thing is that it shows what a lie has been sold to us by all parties.

When he wanted our votes, David Cameron pledged to cut net migration from hundreds of thousands a year to tens of thousands.

Hardly radical. That was immigration in the 1990s. But he never came close to that goal.

Whenever politicians wanted our vote, they said the same thing.

Ed Miliband has campaigned for prime minister with a promise to reduce net migration.

As, of course, has Theresa May, Boris Johnson and each of the hundreds of other politicians who have asked for our vote in recent years.

Never got near the gate

So how did they all get it so wrong?

Downing Street is already turning things around. They say that this was an unusual year.

They point to some unusual occurrences. For example, the need to take in Afghans who have helped our military and others in Afghanistan.

It is absolutely correct to take these people. But they accounted for just over 22,000 in last year’s migration figures.

Of course, there was also the war in Ukraine, where this country took in refugees from that conflict.

But there are other factors that explain it.

In addition to the 500,000, we’ve seen a record number of illegal migrants enter the country this year.

While in 2018 just a few hundred people crossed the canal illegally on boats from France, this year alone 33,000 crossed the canal in the first nine months of 2022 alone.

A third of them came from Albania.

But even that doesn’t explain these massive numbers.

The truth is that they stem from the incompetence of an entire system.

Especially the Home Office and the unwillingness of our government to do what is necessary to secure our borders.

It’s not just because the government hasn’t gotten a handle on illegal migration.

These figures show that they also do not have legal migration under control.

Much of the massive increase in migrants is due to an increase in student visas.

However, past experience shows that the Home Office is rarely aware of who stays in the UK after completing their studies.

The prime minister’s office responded to the figures with the inevitable statement: “The prime minister said he wanted a reduction in net migration.”

They go on to say, “There are some unprecedented and unique circumstances that have a significant impact on these statistics.”

As they actually are. But the unprecedented is always upon us.

Every year brings some “unprecedented” events. The question is: why does the government think such events must mean more and more migration?

For example, how many of those who are really here for asylum reasons will return to their countries of origin if or if the situation abroad improves?

Maybe many. Maybe very few. Previous evidence points to the latter.

Still, the Home Office seems to think Britain has an infinite ability to accommodate people.

Strain the economy

Don’t forget that in addition to the Afghan and Ukrainian asylum systems, there are also resettlement visas for Hong Kong residents.

One could say that this is one of the best types of migration – as it consists of a large number of people that can be of great economic benefit to the UK.

But even if migrants are not a real drag on the economy, they bring challenges. For example, everyone must have an apartment.

This government, like all its predecessors, is woefully behind in housing construction.

A fact that makes people pay sky-high rents and keeps young people from climbing the real estate ladder.

Years ago, the Conservatives set a goal of building 300,000 homes a year.

But at current rates, even if the government were able to oversee the necessary housing construction, all and more would be taken up by this year’s migrants alone.

And that’s what the government doesn’t understand.

Almost nobody has a problem with immigration. What we have a huge problem with is immigration at this rate and on this scale.

Not because it concerns one thing. But because in the end it affects everything.