UK net migration halved in 2024, ONS says

Official statistics have been revealed

The ONS revealed that the figure had dropped over the year from 860,000 to 431,000.

This follows a series of immigration policies implemented by the Conservative government that have been continued by the new Labour government.

It is the largest drop in migration numbers since the start of the Covid pandemic which saw migration numbers fall from 184,000 to 93,000 by the year's end in 2020.

It is equally the largest ever total drop for a 12-month period.

The drop in numbers was due to reduced immigration from non-EU countries for work and study as well as an increase in emigration from the UK, says the ONS.

Keir Starmer has been under pressure recently from both sides of the immigration argument following on from recent policies he implemented last week to try and curb immigration numbers.

He unveiled new, tighter migration policies which he has said were designed to end a “squalid chapter” in the UK’s history.

Speaking on at the time at Downing Street, the PM promised the plans would cause migration numbers to fall.

He said the policies would see the country “finally take back control of our borders."

Starmer pointed out that between 2019 and 2023, net migration to the UK “quadrupled”, reaching a record high of nearly one million in 2023, something he described this as “chaos.”

Starmer told reporters his government wants to “close the book on a squalid chapter in our history,” adding he was announcing the plans “because it’s right, it’s fair, and what I believe in.”

He went on to call for integration from migrants to the UK, saying: “When people come to our country, they should also commit to integration, to learning our language, and our system should actively distinguish between those that do and those that don’t.”

Following news of the drop, leaders of the Conservative party have made sure to remind people that it was their policies that led to the reduction and warned of Labour taking credit for the outcome.