Annual net migration to Britain dipped to 323,000 in September 2015 – 13,000 lower than the record level of 336,000 recorded last June, the Office for National Statistics has said.
The small fall in net migration provides evidence that the flow of EU migrants to work in Britain has now peaked and appears to be stabilising. The decline follows seven successive quarters – 21 months – of rises in the politically sensitive net migration figure.
The home secretary, Theresa May, responded to the new set of figures saying: “Net migration in the UK still remains too high. Immigration at this level puts pressure on public services, on housing, on infrastructure … it can hold down wages and push British workers out of jobs.”
But she said the EU deal struck by David Cameron would “clamp down on abuse of free movement” and “reduce the pull factor of our welfare system and make it easier for us to deport people who are abusing our generosity”. The 323,000 net migration figure remains more than three times the level promised by David Cameron when he pledged to reduce it to 100,000 by the time of the 2020 general election.
Bollocks