'We've got to get a grip!' Nigel Farage scolds Labour's efforts to tackle migration after 'mad' ONS projection

"Remember that the population has increased by more than 10 million in the last 20 years, and so this projection from the Office of National Statistics says another 5 million, and we're all supposed to just accept it," Farage said.

He expressed particular concern about housing pressures, noting that even if the Government achieves its target of building 1.5 million homes, it would be "insufficient" to meet the demand.

New data from the Office for National Statistics reveals the UK population is set to surge by almost five million over the next seven years.

The ONS projects the total population will reach 72.5 million by mid-2032, marking a significant increase from 67.6 million in mid-2022.

"Just suppose the Government does build 1.5 million homes, that won't even be enough to cope with the numbers coming in over the next five years, let alone the shortfall that we have now," he warned.

Farage painted a stark picture of strained public services, highlighting mounting pressures on the NHS.

"Have a think about GP services, new homes still being built everywhere, no new GP practices, waiting times for a doctor beyond anything our parents and grandparents could ever even have dreamt of," he said.

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The Reform UK leader expressed particular concern about employment rates among new arrivals. "Of the last three million that entered the country from outside the European Union, under the last Conservative government of the last 3 million, only 22 per cent are working," he stated.

Drawing a historical comparison, Farage highlighted the dramatic shift in migration patterns. "From Windrush until almost the millennium, net migration was at 30,000 a year. Now it's running at up to a million a year," he said.

He argued this represents a fundamental transformation in Britain's immigration landscape. "That just gives you some sense of perspective of just how mad this has all become," he added.

Concluding his stark assessment, Farage issued a dire warning about the sustainability of current migration levels.

"The numbers get bigger and bigger and bigger. We cannot afford it. It's damaging our way of life. We've got to get a grip," he declared.

The Reform UK leader suggested there was little prospect of change under the current Labour administration.

"There is no indication that the Labour Party will change the barriers, the limits to legal migration, let alone what's coming across the English Channel," he said.

He expressed fears that migration would persist at unprecedented levels. "I suspect numbers will continue at massive historic levels," Farage warned.

He argued the combined impact was making Britain poorer while degrading quality of life. "Not only is living our lives more difficult, it's directly making us poorer. There is no argument for continued mass migration, and yet I fear it's going to continue," he concluded.

ONS head of population and household projections James Robards said: "The UK population is projected to grow by almost five million over the next decade."

"The driver of this growth is migration, with natural change – the difference between births and deaths – projected to be around zero," he added.