Commenting on the asylum statistics released today, Sir Andrew Green, Chairman Migrationwatch UK, said “This is bad news for the government. Asylum seekers are up by 13% and removals are down for the fourth successive quarter. It is increasingly clear that the governments present policies cannot reduce asylum claims to acceptable levels, especially as 70% are eventually refused permission to stay in Britain. Only one in five of those refused is actually removed.” Meanwhile, according to the UNHCR, the UK continues to receive the second largest number of asylum claimants in the Western world – after France but above the US and Germany.
Analysis of ONS National Population Projections
On 28 April 2026, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published its 2024-based National Population Projections, a 100-year modelling projection covering the UK and its
May 1, 2026
