Nicola White, of the ONS’s Migration Statistics Division, said:
‘With around 280,000 more people coming to the UK than leaving in 2017, these latest figures show that migration has continued to add to the UK population.
‘Net migration fell following record levels in 2015 and early 2016 and has been broadly stable since.
‘This is similar to the level recorded in the year ending September 2014.
‘Underlying this, immigration has remained broadly stable at around 630,000 and emigration has shown a gradual increase since 2015 and is currently at around 350,000.’
Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for a reduction in immigration, believes that
‘Post-Brexit policy should aim to reduce immigration into lower-skilled work which is less beneficial to the economy, while adding to population growth and to pressure on public services.
‘Brexit may provide greater scope for the government to deliver a substantial reduction in overall net migration – a goal supported by nearly two-thirds of the public.’
However, The Institute of Directors said that businesses were struggling to find people with the skills they needed and urged Prime Minister Theresa May to keep the door open for immigration.
This was echoed by Global Futures, a pro-immigration group, whose director, Peter Starkings, said:
‘Cutting immigration hits our public finances hard. The public think immigration has been good for our economy and our culture, and when offered the choice, they routinely choose economic stability over reducing immigration.
‘As the government draws up its plans for a post-Brexit immigration policy, they must be honest about the trade-offs at the heart of this debate.
This analysis shows that lower immigration means lower public investment, higher borrowing, or higher taxes – and meeting the government’s self-defeating target to reduce net migration to tens of thousands a year would blow a giant multi-billion pound hole in the public finances.’