Has immigration to the UK been too high?
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Net migration, the number arriving minus those leaving, was an estimated 171,000 in the year to December 2025, according to provisional ONS figures published in May 2026. That is down from 331,000 a year earlier and a peak of 944,000 in the year to March 2023. The fall was driven mainly by fewer non-EU workers arriving. The government's 2025 white paper is tightening visa rules, and plans to extend the settlement wait from five to ten years for many routes are due to be published from December 2026.
12 Opinions
Excessive immigration, in particular asylum and family attachments has driven the lack of houses and unaffordable welfare state, it must be reversed.
Yes, excessively so.
Yes and no. It's got worse since Brexit. We do need immigrants who are willing to work, in the areas we have a shortage. I'm not annoyed about immigrants, they are told our streets are paved with gold. It might help if immigration rules are tightened up.
Celebrating a recent drop in legal visas misses the bigger picture. Overall numbers, particularly unmanaged illegal immigration, remain too high for our current infrastructure to handle. A strong state requires compassionate but strictly managed borders, not open ended growth.
The problem is not legal immigration, and we need to be absolutely clear about what we mean by "immigration". The problem is the undocumented, illegal, mainly islamic, fighting age men landing (invading) these United Kingdoms on "small boats". They bring a faith, culture and legal system incompatible with everything we have stood for, for 300 years and more.
The immigration issue wouldn't have been as bad if we had net contributors like Australians, Americans, Canadians, etc. - similar culturally, and the countries that produce detailed statistics on the financial impact of these nationalities (Denmark and Netherlands produce this data) shows that they actually contribute to the countries they move to. There is no logic in importing the 3rd world, those people who cost the taxpayer for generations and make it worse for everyone.
Indecently and morally far too high. This ‘immigration’ farce is out to ruin a once proud and obliging people. Democratic to a fault. A land of heroes led by self serving donkeys, someone said ! What would they say the noo eh ??