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.
Migration Watch Responds To The Latest Set Of Ons Migration Figures, September 2025
Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch, said: For further comments, please contact admin@migrationwatchuk.org. Notes to editor:
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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 MoreProceeds Of Crime Act Successfully Used Against An Employer Of Illegal Immigrants
Section 15 ofthe Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 prescribes civil penaltieswhich may be imposed by the Home office on employers found to have been employingillegal immigrants, i.e. people who have no leave to remain in the UK, whoseleave has expired or who have leave but whose leave is subject
Labour’s Link Between Immigration And Apprenticeships
Summary 1.Labour’s scheme to trade work permitsfor new apprenticeships faces practical difficulties. Work permits are nowadaysissued for higher level positions so apprentices would not be immediatereplacements. There would be no impact on low skilled migration which seems tohave been the context for this announcement. Introduction 2. On the Andrew Marr
Press Comment On The End Of The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme
Welcoming the Government’s decisionto bring to an end the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme, Sir Andrew Green,Chairman of Migration Watch UK, said: ‘This decision has to be right. Wenow have a labour market of 500 million in the European Union, it simply makesno sense to bring in unskilled workers from outside.
Response To The Latest Net Migration Figures – Students Are A Key Element In Net Migration
Despite a small increase over thequarter, these latest figures show that government policy is succeeding in reducinginflows from outside the EU – by 50,000 over the year. Future reductionsin net migration will depend on ensuring that people leave when they should. Inthis connection the student figures are striking. Over the
Foreign Citizens Votes Could Critically Affect Outcome Of 2015 Election And Eu Referendum
A millionforeign citizens can vote in all British elections Commonwealth Citizenswho have not yet qualified for British Citizenship, or have not even applied,should no longer be entitled to vote in British general elections, nor in theforthcoming referendum on UK membership of the EU. That is the conclusion of a report issued
The Migration Matters Trust And Their Estimate Of Migration From Bulgaria And Romania
On 8th August the Migration MattersTrust (MMT), chaired by Barbara Roche and co-chaired by Gavin Barwell MPpublished their estimate of immigration from Romania and Bulgaria which theyput at 20,000 for 2014.[1],[2]. On 18 August an article in The Observer quoted AtulHatwal the Director of the MMT as saying that higher claims