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 MoreMigration Watch Uk Proposals For An Immigration Policy After Brexit – What We Actually Said
In a blog for UK in a Changing EU, Professor Jonathan Portes draws attention to a new report from the Office of National Statistics about migrant workers in the UK labour market. While the report contains much interesting information, Professor Portes uses it to make assertions about Migration Watch proposals
There Are No Excuses Now For A Failure To Reduce Migration
The triggering of Article 50 last week was a major step towards honouring the referendum result. It will undoubtedly please the 69% of the public who say they want Brexit to go ahead (YouGov poll, March 2017) Yet the mass-migration lobby continues to make unconvincing assertions about the risk of economic
Daniel Hannan Is Wrong To Focus On The Benefits System – Only Visas For Eu Workers Will Control Migration
Daniel Hannan, the Conservative MEP for South East England, writingin yesterday’s Sun has picked up on a storypublished in last weekend’s Sunday Times entitled ‘Benefits for Migrants Face Axe’ (£) which details plans reportedly being drawn up by Ministers to restrict in-work benefits for future EU migrants to the UK. Mr Hannan praised the plans and
Claim That Reducing Low-skilled Migration Would Harm Economy Not Backed Up By The Facts
A recent Economist article (‘Keep Out: Lower immigration could be the biggest economic cost of Brexit’, 25th February 2017) makes a number of bogus claims about both the impact of immigration and the public’s response to it that deserve to be soundly rebutted. The article starts by suggesting that net migration into the UK
Migration Watch Uk Press Comment – Businesses Not Facing An Immigration ‘cliff Edge’ Post Brexit
A sharp drop after Brexit in the number of Eastern European workers who are already here is unlikely and does not justify business demands for continued large inflows of low skilled workers. That is the conclusion of a paper released by Migration Watch UK today. The evidence suggests that there is little
Migration Watch Uk Response To Tuc Touchstone Blog
Following the publication of a Migration Watch UK paper detailing the implications of Single Market membership for levels of net migration from the EU, a blog post was published on the TUC run Touchstone blog (see here). The main thrust of our paper (which you can read here) was that Single Market