One chart exposes UK's 'enormous' immigration problem with influx 'like never before'
Despite the Government's decade-long efforts to curb migration, the UK has been experiencing an unprecedented surge in new arrivals into the country.
An astonishing new chart has exposed the "enormous" issue the UK is grappling with when it comes to immigration.
The Conservative Party has repeatedly attempted to tackle illegal immigration pledging stricter rules to stop boats carrying migrants through the Channel.
However, ONS and Home Office data have shown that under 30,000 people arrived illegally, with the number reaching 81,000 when asylum seekers are added to the mix.
In 2023, a little over a million people entered the UK with the majority relocating to work and study in the country.
The chart showed net migration – the number of people coming into the UK minus the number of those leaving – has hit an all-time high within five years.
Reviewing the chart, Sky News's Economics editor Ed Conway said: "We've NEVER seen net migration flows like this before.
"Whether you put it down to post-Brexit migration rules, post-Covid shifts or something else, it's an ENORMOUS shift...
"I'm quite surprised the issue isn't even bigger this election. Perhaps it's because it takes a while for data trends to become a cultural issue.
"Think Polish plumbers, post-war Commonwealth migration or Windrush generation."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to push his Government's migration policy "further' if re-elected during July 4's General Elections.
Mr Sunak said: "The plan is working but migration levels are still too high so we're going further.
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"We have a clear plan to stop the boars, and put a legal cap on numbers."
The Prime Minister did not clarify what the cap would be. However, his predecessors since David Cameron have repeatedly imposed one with little to no success.
Boris Johnson moved away from the cap policy when he took office in 2020, suggesting a point-based system and experienced some results. However, the Coronavirus pandemic played a major role in bringing migration numbers down.
The Office of National Statists data also highlighted that instead of contributing to lowering immigration rates, post-Brexit rules resulted in a surge of new arrivals into the country from outside the European Union.
The ONS reported that 670,000 Indian nationals arrived in the UK since 2021, with Nigerians following right after with 310,000 arrivals.
