UK net migration in 2024 fell by half to 431,000

AFP | London

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Net migration to the UK dropped by half in 2024, the latest official figures showed yesterday, in what will be a welcome boost for under-fire Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated the figure for last year stood at 431,000, a dramatic drop from the 860,000 recorded in the year to December 2023.

It was the biggest fall in net migration -- the difference between the numbers of people arriving in the UK and those leaving  -- since the Covid pandemic.

"Long-term net migration is down by almost 50 percent," the ONS said in its latest report. "We are seeing reductions in people arriving on work- and study-related visas," it added. It had also recorded "an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024", especially by those on work and study visas.

The previous Conservative government had toughed the rules for people applying for such visas, insisting on higher salaries and refusing permission for people to bring their families with them.

Migration has become a hot-button issue in UK politics and Starmer unveiled tough new policies on May 12 vowing to "finally take back control" of Britain's borders.

The measures included cutting overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement and new powers to deport foreign criminals.

Starmer, who voted for the UK to remain part of the European Union, is under renewed pressure to tackle immigration following surprise gains by the anti-immigration Reform UK party in May local elections.

He said in his speech that Britain risked becoming "an island of strangers", triggering sharp criticism from within his own Labour party for his toughened rhetoric.