BRITAIN will keep taking in nearly 300,000 people a year even after sweeping crackdowns on immigration, a Government adviser said.
Prof Brian Bell said net migration will fall from 430,000 to around 200,000 next year, but is likely to bounce back to just below 300,000 in the long term.
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That’s the equivalent of adding a city the size of Nottingham to the UK population every single year.
The chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) blamed the drop on falling job vacancies and tough new rules from both the Tories and Labour.
He said it could fall lower depending on the impact of Labour’s proposed reforms to tighten work visa rules.
Sir Keir Starmer’s White Paper plans to restrict visas to graduate-level jobs, block the overseas recruitment of foreign care workers, and raise English language requirements.
He said: “I think we’ll revert to about 300,000, although probably a little lower given the White Paper’s recent changes which, if enacted, will reduce net migration by perhaps about 80,000.
“So somewhere just below 300,000 would seem like a plausible medium-term scenario.”
His committee also sounded the alarm over plans to raise the salary required to bring a foreign spouse to Britain from £29,000 to £38,700.
He warned the move will likely breach human rights laws protecting family life.
