LONDON, Nov 28, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - UK net migration fell to an estimated
728,000 in the year to June 2024, down 20 percent from a record high of
906,000 the previous year, official figures showed on Thursday.

Migration was a major issue at the general election in July, when Prime
Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party ousted the Conservatives.

Support for ex-premier Rishi Sunak's party was badly hit by the Tories'
failure to deliver on promises to reduce the migration figures, with many
voters defecting to the anti-immigration Reform UK party.

The latest figures come as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also
revised upwards the figure for the year to June 2023.

It said net migration -- the difference between the number of people arriving
in Britain and those leaving -- was 906,000 for the period, 166,000 higher
than its previous estimate of 740,000.

The data showed that overall some 1.2 million people are estimated to have
arrived in the UK in the year to June 2024, while around 479,000 left.

The drop in arrivals is partly attributed to rule changes introduced by the
Conservatives in January that restrict the ability of most international
students to bring family members to the UK.

The ONS said another factor was "the large number of students who came to the
UK post-pandemic now reaching the end of their courses".

- Barred from hiring -

The Conservatives won a landslide under the leadership of Boris Johnson at
the 2019 election, largely on a promise to bring net migration numbers down.

The party repeatedly promised that leaving the European Union, which ended
the free movement of people from member states, would allow the UK to "take
back control" of its borders.

But regular migration has soared since Britain formally left the EU in
January 2020. In 2021, net migration was 488,000.

The Labour government also warned on Thursday that employers who flout visa
rules or fail to pay the minimum wage could face lengthy bars from hiring
foreign workers.

Measures introduced through the government's Employment Rights Bill -- which
is currently making its way through parliament -- would see the length of
time companies can be sanctioned double to two years.

Migration minister Seema Malhotra said the government was committed to
"ensure those who abuse our immigration system face the strongest possible
consequences".

"No longer will employers be able to flout the rules with little consequence
or exploit international workers for costs they were always supposed to pay
if they choose not to recruit domestically," she added.

Meanwhile, the number of undocumented migrants arriving in the UK after
crossing the Channel on dangerous rudimentary vessels stands at over 33,500,
up around 18 percent compared to the same period in 2023. Numbers are down on
2022.