Blogs
We publish blogs that draw on data and research, and through them we inform debate, spark discussion, and explore the wider implications of current developments.
Analysis, Commentary and Research Updates
Explore our latest publications on immigration and asylum policies. Stay informed with well-researched insights.
Don’t Be Fooled – This Government Is Not In Control Of Illegal Immigration
The Home Office today (9th September) issued a press release titled, ‘For the first time, small boat migrants arriving in the UK face being detained and returned to France’. Promising title – but is it…
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Cutting Student Visas: Bringing Migration Under Control
The numbers speak for themselves. In 2024, student visas accounted for 45% of all UK entry visas issued – the single largest route for legal migration. This surge is no accident. In 2019, ministers set…
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Migration Is Changing Your Area – Just Look At These Numbers.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its official estimates for the population of England and Wales yesterday, and the results make for dire reading. Already the headlines are coming in thick and fast: “Migration fuels population…
Learn MoreA Shocking Year, Strewn With Failure. Pull Your Socks up or go!
It’s been exactly one year since Labour won the 2024 General Election. Given that “immigration and asylum” was the second-most important issue for voters at the time – and by far the most important issue for Conservative…
Learn MoreWar In Iran Will Only Make Britain’s Migration Crisis Worse
The regional fallouts of the conflict engulfing Iran are yet to reveal themselves, but one catastrophic consequence is definitely not in doubt: Britain’s migration crisis will further deepen. Iran is already the nation from which…
Learn MoreIs The Prime Minister’s Plan Working?
Can the government stop the boats? Speaking in Dover today, the Prime Minister gave an update on his pledge to stop small boats crossing the English Channel. Illegal crossings, he said, are down 20 per…
Learn MoreA Passage From India – Explaining The Unexpected Rise Of Indians Crossing The Channel
This week the government disclosed that in 2023 Indians have been the second largest group of people illegally crossing the English Channel in small boats, making up 18 per cent of all crossings. Although the increase…
Learn MoreFrom Baghdad To Bournemouth – Granting Refuge To Terrorists
It emerged in the Daily Mail recently that among those who illegally entered the UK in a dinghy last year were 19 suspected terrorists, several of whom are thought to have been members of the…
Learn MoreDoes Britain Think Immigration Is Too High?
Polling is central to modern politics. For governments, it is a means of testing public reaction to policies. More and more nowadays it is done with focus groups to test the popularity or otherwise of…
Learn MoreThe Coronavirus Crisis And Border Control
Introduction 1. There is a clear risk that older visitors from overseas could add to pressures on an already struggling NHS. In recent years there have been about 14 million visitor admissions per year from outside the EU, some from countries where the virus is a significant factor. Nearly ten
Why Lock All The Internal Doors But Leave The External Ones Wide Open?
Migration Watch UK’s stance is that travel by non-UK nationals who have spent time in the worst-affected countries should be suspended. However, British nationals who wish to return here should be still be able to fly home. We would add Spain to the list of worst-affected areas. Research (for instance by
Some Impacts Of Very High Immigration – Factsheet For The United Kingdom
1. Net migration into the UK from overseas stands at 240,000 (year to September 2019 – see ONS bulletin). EU net migration has fallen by about 100,000 since 2016 but still stands at 64,000 more people coming than leaving. Non-EU net migration to the UK is the highest since 2004, and gross non-EU
Statistical Failures Should Not Obscure The Huge Gulf Between Politicians And The Public Over Immigration
By Alp Mehmet, Daily Telegraph, 22 August 2019 The public will rightly approach the new immigration figures, which estimate that 226,000 more long-term migrants moved here than departed in the year ending March 2019, with a healthy dose of scepticism. That is only natural in the wake of an admission by
How The Immigration White Paper Flies In The Face Of The Findings And Recommendations Of Government’s Own Migration Advisory Committee
Summary Notwithstanding the change of Prime Minister and Home Secretary, it appears that the December 2018 Immigration White Paper is still to form the basis of future immigration policy after Brexit. The government claim to have been guided by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in drawing up these proposals and,
The Government Should Restore The £30,000 Pay Threshold For Foreign Workers
The government have lowered the pay threshold for applicants for skilled work permits from £30,000 per year to £25,600. It was part of a package enacted by the government which hugely weakened work visa safeguards during a massive jobs crisis. This was not the “best and brightest” idea, nor was it in