Boriswave

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Total long-term net migration in the UK, June 2012 to June 2024 Total UK long-term net migration, June 2012-June 2024.jpg
Total long-term net migration in the UK, June 2012 to June 2024

The Boriswave, also spelt Boris Wave, [1] is the significant and ongoing [2] wave of immigration to the United Kingdom since 2021, following the country's withdrawal from the European Union (EU). [3] The change was enabled by the relaxing of the points-based system by the prime minister at the time, Boris Johnson of the Conservative Party, [4] [5] which reduced requirements for the granting of visas. [6] [7]

Contents

Whilst the reasoning for the decision is disputed, [8] [9] polling showed that the outcome was opposed by a majority of the public. [10] In the preceding 2019 general election, Johnson had promised to reduce net migration; [11] a promise made by the Conservative Party in four successive general elections in the 2010s which consistently undelivered.

Origins

Following the decision by the UK to leave the EU, it was clear that free movement of workers and dependents between the EU and the UK would come to an end. On 19th December 2018 Theresa May's Home Secretary Sajid Javid drew up a plan for a new "new skills-based immigration system" that would:

  1. "remove the annual cap on the number of work visas issued"
  2. "widen the skills threshold to include people with qualifications equivalent of A levels"
  3. "ends the requirements for labour market tests by employers wanting to sponsor a worker."

In addition the new immigration system would include 'Shortage Occupation Lists' where the salary threshold for a visa could be reduced to 80% of the then £26,200 salary or lower for new entrants. The system came into operation on 1 January 2021. [12] [13]

The major increase in migration due to this new system was distinct from the scheme for Hongkongers, the Ukrainian resettlement scheme [14] and migration from EU member states, [15] and the continuing problems related to illegal immigration.

The wave

The new arrivals were primarily from countries such as Nigeria, India, and Pakistan. [16] Many of these migrants were students, dependents, or low-wage workers. [17] The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) projected the net cost to the public finances of low-skilled workers to be £500,000, per immigrant, if they lived to 80 years of age. [18] [19]

Aftermath

The Home Office drew up a radical plan to reduce the predicted surge in immigration in a document dated August 2022 containing options as to how the Conservative government could meet its commitments. The plan was rejected by Johnson's successor, Liz Truss, and her successor, Rishi Sunak. [20] [21]

Upon the publication [22] of statistics in November 2024 showing further substantial increases, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party stated that the policy had turned "Britain into a one-nation experiment in open borders" and that the change "happened by design, not accident". [23]

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References

  1. ↑ Dickens, Jack. "Boris Wave brings record high net migration". Reaction. Iain Martin. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "Long-term international migration, provisional - Office for National Statistics".
  3. ↑ Bidwell, Sam (2024-10-19). "Labour must kick Britain's dangerous addiction to migration". The Telegraph . ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2024-12-02. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
  4. ↑ Bidwell, Sam (2024-10-19). "Labour must kick Britain's dangerous addiction to migration". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  5. ↑ Sturge, Georgina (2022-09-27). "How has immigration changed under the UK's new 'points based' system?".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ Sumption, Madeleine (2022). "Shortages, high-demand occupations, and the post-Brexit UK immigration system". Oxford Review of Economic Policy. 38: 97–111. doi:10.1093/oxrep/grab046.
  7. ↑ "On the Tory Cult of Personality and its Consequences".
  8. ↑ "Dominic Cummings (@Dominic2306) on X". X (Formerly Twitter).
  9. ↑ Syal, Rajeev; editor, Rajeev Syal Home affairs (2024-11-28). "Net migration to UK hit record high of 906,000 in year to June 2023, revised figures show". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-12-07.{{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  10. ↑ "UK Public Opinion toward Immigration: Overall Attitudes and Level of Concern". Migration Observatory. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  11. ↑ https://assets-global.website-files.com/5da42e2cae7ebd3f8bde353c/5dda924905da587992a064ba_Conservative%202019%20Manifesto.pdf
  12. ↑ "The New Skills Based Immigration System". Government. 19 December 2018.
  13. ↑ McKinney, CJ; Gower, Melanie (12 December 2024). "Changes to legal migration rules for family and work visas in 2024". House of Commons Library.
  14. ↑ "Ukrainian migration to the UK".
  15. ↑ "EU Migration to and from the UK". Migration Observatory. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  16. ↑ "Long-term international migration, provisional - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  17. ↑ "Net migration forecast and its impact on the economy".
  18. ↑ "The Fiscal Impact of Immigration in the UK".
  19. ↑ Chan, Szu Ping; Wallace, Tim (12 September 2024). "Low-skilled migrants cost taxpayers £150,000 each". The Telegraph.
  20. ↑ Edington, Steven; Hymas, Charles (16 May 2023). "Million more migrants heading to Britain before next election, ministers warned". The Telegraph.
  21. ↑ "BOMBSHELL LEAK Radical plan to reduce net migration drawn up by Home Office — only to be dumped by No10". The Sun. 6 July 2023.
  22. ↑ "Long-term international migration, provisional - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  23. ↑ Syal, Rajeev; editor, Rajeev Syal Home affairs (2024-11-28). "Starmer: record net migration shows Tories ran 'open borders experiment'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-12-07.{{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
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