IMMIGRATION FUELS RECORD POPULATION GROWTH – Grew by more than 700,000 in the year to June 2024 to nearly 62 million 

Immigration has fuelled the two biggest annual rises in the population of England and Wales since the Second World War, official figures revealed.

The population grew by more than 700,000 in the year to June 2024 to nearly 62 million, the second largest annual increase since records began in 1949, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It was only beaten by the 821,210 increase in the population in the preceding 12 months, from mid-2022 to mid-2023, following record rises in net migration – the number of people entering the UK minus those leaving.

Almost all the population increase in the year to June 2024 – some 98 per cent – was as a result of international migration, with natural changes due to births and deaths accounting for only a fraction.

Senior politicians warned that the huge growth in the population, fuelled by migration, was unsustainable due to the pressures that it placed on housing and public services.

Chris Philp, the Tory shadow home secretary, said: “These numbers are far too high and must come substantially down. The pressure on housing and social cohesion is unacceptable. We also now know that mass low-skill migration is bad for the economy and actually costs more than it contributes.

Deliberate mass Immigration is being used to hide a bigger problem in the UK.  Birth rates in the UK have been steadily decreasing. In 2023, there were 591,072 live births in England and Wales, the lowest number since 1977. The total fertility rate (TFR) also dropped to a record low of 1.44 children per woman. This decline is part of a longer-term trend, with TFRs falling since 2010.