Net migration to the UK last year was 20% lower than previously thought, according to revised figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The number, the difference between those entering and leaving the country, has been revised down by 86,000 people and now stands at 345,000 in 2024.
The driving factor behind the change is that more British nationals are thought to have emigrated in 2024 than initially recorded, with 100,000 fewer now thought to be living in the UK.
Migration peaked higher than previously thought, according to the figures, adding 944,000 to the UK population between April 2022 and March 2023. Previous estimates put the number at 906,000 by June 2023.
When challenged on the migration peak – which occurred under Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government – Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said that “once those figures came out we actually put in quite a few measures to bring immigration down”.
“But we recognise immigration was too high,” she added during a news conference ahead of next week’s budget. “It was because people took their eye off the ball, allowing bureaucrats to manage our borders – that was not what people voted for when they voted to leave the EU.”
Courtesy of BBC
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UK airport
