Outrage Over 2.2 Million New Migrants Projected to Push UK Population to Record 71 Million in 8 Years: A ‘Catastrophic’ Surge

AN EXTRA 2.2million migrants will be added to the population in the decade to 2034, shock official figures show.

Some 7.3million will move here with 5.1million set to leave – as net remains the only driver of population growth.

An extra 2.2million migrants will be added to the population in the decade to 2034, shock official figures show Credit: Alamy Some 7.3million will move here with 5.1million set to leave – as net international migration remains the only driver of population growth Credit: Getty

Senior Tories called the projected figures “catastrophic” after they were released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday.

And they claimed don’t have a backbone to bring down the numbers.

The 2.2million growth is equivalent to adding a city twice the size of .

The overall UK population will rise from 69.3million to 71million between 2024 and 2034, which is a slower rate than previously forecast.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Net migration is down by nearly 70 per cent under this Government, with visa numbers continuing to fall as we restore control to borders’ Credit: Getty The overall UK population will rise from 69.3million to 71million between 2024 and 2034, which is a slower rate than previously forecast Credit: Getty

The ONS revision is due to a fall in projected levels of net migration, and lower fertility rates.

surged to 944,000 in the year to March 2023 but has now dropped to 204,000 in the year to September 2025.

brought in tougher rules by raising the salary threshold for skilled workers coming to the UK, and limits were put on foreign students bringing in dependents.

Home Secretary is planning to double the standard qualifying period for from five years to ten.

But Tory Shadow Home Secretary warned: “Mass immigration undermines our society and low wage immigration is bad for the economy.

“British people feel this in lower wages, longer waiting lists for public services and housing shortages.

“Labour have opened the door without any plan to deal with the consequences, and the ONS shows this will impact us into the 2030s.

“These 2.2million will mostly arrive with legal visas that Parliament could stop.

“We only want a small number of very high-skilled migrants and no low-skill migrants at all.

“But sadly, Labour do not have the backbone to deliver this.”

The population for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will hit 72.5million in 2054 but then go into decline.

Previous outlooks suggested growth until 2096.

The decline is due to deaths outnumbering births each year from 2026 onwards.

Meanwhile, those of pensionable age will rise from 12.4million to 14.2million by 2034, where it will account for one in five people.

Under-16s will start to make up a smaller proportion down from 12.6million, 18 per cent of the population, to 11million, or 15.5 per cent.

A spokesman said: “Net migration is down by nearly 70 per cent under this Government, with visa numbers continuing to fall as we restore control to borders.

“While these projections do not directly take into account recent policy changes, we must go further to reduce the levels of migration.

“That’s why we are introducing sweeping reforms to our immigration system, ending over-reliance on cheap labour while attracting the brightest and the best to the UK.”