Some 1.2 million people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in the year ending June 2024, while 479,000 are likely to have left(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Migration to the UK drops by whopping 20% sparking row between Labour and Tories

Net migration stood at an estimated 728,000, down from a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023. This is the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country

28 Nov 2024, 09:51 by Sophie Huskisson · The Mirror

The net number of migrants coming to the UK fell by 20% in the year up to June, official stats show.

It stood at an estimated 728,000, down from a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023. Net migration is the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country.

Some 1.2 million people are estimated to have arrived in the UK in the year ending June 2024, while 479,000 are likely to have left. This compares with 1.3 million who arrived in the UK in the year to June 2023 and 414,000 who left.

The Tories have attempted to claim credit for the fall, which has been at least partly driven by the party's changes to visa rules, including a clampdown on international students bringing family members with them to the UK. But Labour blames the Tories for letting the numbers get out of control.

Home Office minister Seema Malhotra earlier declined to say what level of net migration would be acceptable. Asked repeatedly to provide a number for an acceptable level of net migration, Ms Malhotra declined to do so, saying policy must be based on "a credible and serious plan" and the Government should not "just pull figures out of the air".

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