UK politics live: Net migration to UK plummets by more than 400,000 in a year
The difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving the country has fallen to the lowest level since the pandemic.
The figure stood at an estimated 431,000 in the year ending December 2024, down 49.9 per cent from 860,000 a year earlier, the ONS said.
This is the biggest calendar-year drop since the early stages of the pandemic when net migration fell from 184,000 in the year ending December 2019 to 93,000 in the year ending December 2020.
The ONS said the decline has been driven by falling numbers of people coming to work and study in the UK.
The latest figures come less than a fortnight after Sir Keir Starmer said high net migration had caused 'incalculable' damage to British society, as he set out a series of measures aimed at reducing further the number of people moving long term to the UK.
The prime minister, who said the country risks becoming an 'island of strangers' without better integration, said he wanted net migration to have fallen 'significantly' by the next general election – but refused to set a target number.
Fall in net migration driven by drop in people coming to work and study
The fall in net migration has been driven by a drop in the number of people coming to the UK to work and study, the ONS said.
There was a 49% decrease in 2024 in the number of non-EU+ nationals arriving in the UK as the main applicant on a work visa, along with a 35% fall in those coming as work dependants.
The number of non-EU+ nationals arriving as main applicants on a study visa dropped by 17%, while there was a much larger fall of 86% in study dependants.
The drop is likely to reflect changes in migration rules introduced in early 2024 by the previous Conservative government, which included restricting the ability of most international students to bring family members.
Non-EU+ nationals refers to people who are not from the European Union or from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
Jabed Ahmed22 May 2025 09:52
Breaking: Net migration halved last year
Estimated net migration to the UK stood at a provisional 431,000 in the year to December 2024, down 50% from 860,000 in the year to December 2023, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This is the largest numerical drop on record.
The previous biggest calendar year fall was during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when net migration dropped from 184,000 in the year ending December 2019 to 93,000 in the year ending December 2020.
Net migration is the difference between the number of people coming to live in the UK long-term and the number of people leaving to live in another country.
Jabed Ahmed22 May 2025 09:32
Explained | What does the sentencing review mean for prisons?
My colleague Andy Gregory reports:
What does government's sentencing review mean for prisons?
Former Tory justice secretary David Gauke has called for overhaul of justice system in major sentencing review
Jabed Ahmed22 May 2025 09:24
Jabed Ahmed22 May 2025 09:14
Watch | Worth building evidence on using chemical castration for sex offenders, says David Gauke
Pressure on Chancellor after Government borrowing jumps to £20.2bn
UK Government borrowing rose by more than expected to £20.2 billion last month, mounting further pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to meet her fiscal rules.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing rose to its fourth-highest April figure on record after increasing £1 billion year-on-year.
The state borrowing figure reflects the difference between government spending and income, largely through tax receipts.
The latest figure showed that the Chancellor had to borrow more money than expected over the month, surpassing analyst predictions of £17.6 billion.
It comes as Ms Reeves seeks to meet her fiscal rule of balancing day-to-day spending with revenues by 2029-30, while improving public services and targeting accelerated economic growth.
Chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: 'After years of economic instability crippling the public purse, we have taken the decisions to stabilise our public finances, which has helped deliver four interest rate cuts since August, cutting the cost of borrowing for businesses and working people.
'We're fixing the NHS, with three million more appointments to bring waiting lists down, rebuilding Britain with our landmark planning reforms and strengthening our borders, delivering on the priorities of the country through our plan for change.'
Jabed Ahmed22 May 2025 08:47
Review chairman: Nobody wants repeat of emergency early release scheme
The lead of an independent review into sentencing which could see violent criminals and sexual offenders released from prison earlier has said 'nobody wants to see a repeat' of the emergency early release scheme.
Last autumn the Government released prisoners early to combat overcrowding, in a measure which independent reviewer David Gauke described as 'rushed, unplanned and unstrategic'.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Gauke, former Conservative justice secretary, said: 'Nobody, I think, wants to see a repeat of that (early release scheme), because that is rushed, it's unplanned, it's unstrategic, and so on, and it's much better to face up to the realities, recognise where we are with the prison population and set out a plan that is strategic, that is properly prepared and gives due notice to everybody, so that we do not find ourselves in that situation.
'Because if you run out of prison places, then really you are putting the whole criminal justice system at risk.'
He added that more community sentences could provide better value for money for the taxpayer.
'I think there is a point from the perspective of the taxpayer that can be missed here,' he said. 'Prisons are expensive. They cost £54,000-a-year for a prison place. That money can be spent very effectively in the community, both punishing offenders and helping with rehabilitation.'
Jabed Ahmed22 May 2025 08:36
Judge blocks UK from completing Chagos Islands deal at eleventh hour
A dramatic intervention last night by a senior judge threatens to throw Keir Starmer's controversial plans to sign away the Chagos Islands to Mauritius today in chaos.
The plan is to sign the deal today which will give Mauritius sovereignty over the islands. It would follow months of wrangling amid concerns over the future of the UK/ US military base on Diego Garcia.
But a late legal challenge from a Chagossian saw High Court judge Sir Julian Goose put a pause on the treaty being signed at 3am this morning following hours of legal wrangling.
Our Political Editor David Maddox reports:
Judge blocks UK from completing Chagos Islands deal at eleventh hour
The prime minister planned to sign a deal handing the Chagos Islands to Mauritius today but a dramatic 3am ruling by a senior judge has put a pause on the plans
Jabed Ahmed22 May 2025 08:23
Foreign offenders should be sent back to their countries, review recommends
David Gauke said there are recommendations in his sentencing review to send foreign offenders back to their countries.
He told Sky News: 'If a foreign national offender is sentenced to less than three years, then we argue that they should be deported, as soon as possible.
'If they've got a sentence that is more than three years, so a particularly serious offence, we can deport them but there is absolutely no guarantee unless there's a prison transfer agreement in place with another country that that offender will go into prison. They could well be then free, walking the streets.'
He added: 'If we just deport them, whatever the length of their sentence, they could be walking free. And I don't think that would be fair on victims. I don't think that would be right for society as a whole.
'So you have to balance the guarantee of punishment for serious offenders with the case for getting them out of our jails as quickly as possible.'
It is possible to move quickly to deport people convicted of crimes, he said, but added that you 'can't have a blanket approach where every foreign national offender is deported'.
Holly Evans22 May 2025 08:15
Chemical castration considered for sex offenders to reduce re-offending
The sentencing review recommends exploring chemical castration for sex offenders as a way of reducing reoffending, independent reviewer David Gauke has said.
'One of our recommendations is that we think that we should continue to explore this, this is drugs that reduces sexual desire,' Mr Gauke told Sky News.
'It's not appropriate for every sexual offender, and the evidence base for this does need to be built up.'
A small pilot under way in the south west of England could be expanded, he said.
'I'm not going to claim it's the answer for everything. This is about reducing the risk of reoffending in future. There are some sex offenders who want to reduce their desires. And if we can explore this, I think that is something that's worthwhile,' he said.
Asked if this would be used instead of keeping sex offenders in prison, he said: 'The point being is at some point almost every prisoner will be released. We have to look across the system at doing everything we can do to minimise the risk of reoffending. You cannot remove that risk altogether.'
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