Net migration to Britain has surpassed half a million for the first time ever, smashing the pre-Brexit record by quite some margin.
Around 1.1 million people migrated to the UK in the year leading up to June 2022, according to new ONS data. After subtracting those who emigrated, the UK population has risen by 504,000.
To put these figures in context, UK net migration was negative 30 years ago. It reached a peak of 330,000 just before the Brexit vote, then started to decline following the end of freedom of movement. During the pandemic, the curb of global movement prompted a big drop in net migration to Britain. But now it has surged.
