BRITAIN must hold an emergency census next year as mass immigration piles pressure on communities and risks sparking social unrest, a bombshell report warns.
The country is effectively flying blind on population change, according to think tank Policy Exchange.
Their study – backed by influential Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman – warns the last full census in 2021 is already wildly out of date.
Since then, a post-Brexit surge in immigration has seen 3.9million people arrive in the UK, the report says.
That drove a net population increase of more than 2.3million in just three years – equal to adding Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool combined.
The report warns the scale and speed of change is stretching housing, schools, GP surgeries and local services to the limit.
In some towns and cities, growth has been far faster than the national average.
Preston, for example, saw its population jump more than 10 per cent in just three years.
The study warns such rapid change can weaken community cohesion if it is not properly understood or managed.
Author Dr Rakib Ehsan says fresh data would better prepare ministers for national crises such as Covid and would “allow us to identify areas characterised by worsening forms of religious and cultural segregation which can provide fertile ground for the growth of extremist ideologies”.
Lord Glasman – founder of the influential Blue Labour group – also said: “In the interests of protecting critical infrastructure and identifying risks of civil unrest, the country needs up-to-date population data which provides vital on-the-ground insights.”
He added: “If we are truly serious about integration as a society, fresh information is needed on forms of neighbourhood segregation and levels of English language proficiency in local communities.
“I strongly encourage the Labour Government to take note of the social justifications for an emergency 2026 census in England”.
