Britain's net migration set to rise by 315,000 annually – enough to fill Doncaster

The figure takes into account people leaving the country, though the predictions fall a great deal lower than last year’s 670,000.

But the net arrivals would see enough people arriving in the UK to fill a city the size of Doncaster every year.

Migration Watch UK chairman Alp Mehmet said the updated forecast would mean the UK’s population would see an increase of nine million people by 2046, meaning it’s set to rise at a higher rate than it has over the previous 22 years.

Mehmet said increased immigration “will mean massive added pressure on services and housing”, and claimed “neither party is being honest about the scale of immigration and its damaging impact on our economy and society”.

But the OBR said government measures in December to clamp down on legal arrivals, including banning foreign care workers, would mean a long-term decrease in net migration.

It said: “Most of the [Home Office] policies will have been introduced by April 2024, so we expect significantly reduced immigration levels from that point.”

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Its chairman Richard Hughes said the statistics were “informed by the latest ONS projections and changes in the visa regime announced late last year”.

In response to the figures, Sir Keir Starmer said the government would only stave off an “even deeper decline” in economic growth thanks to “record levels of migration”.

While former Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “I’m very pleased the OBR seems to have shifted away from its orthodox view, having been traditionally that more people coming into the country, largely on low wages, is necessarily a net benefit for the economy.”

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pointed to foreign arrivals’ impact on Britain’s workforce – in yesterday’s Budget, he said it would be “morally and economically wrong” to hire overseas workers over Britons.

The news comes after Monday’s reveal that record numbers of migrants have been arriving in the UK on small boats in 2024.

The surge in illegal crossings has led to international pressure to toughen up action against smuggling gangs, who GB News’ Mark White said were taking advantage of fair weather to ferry people over to Britain.

But the Home Office said: “Our priority is to stop the boats, which is why we have taken robust action to crack down on vile people smuggling gangs, deter migrants from making dangerous crossings and, alongside our French counterparts, intercept vessels.

“This relentless action reduced crossings by 36 per cent last year, despite numbers soaring by 80 per cent in the Mediterranean, and more than 26,000 attempts were prevented.”