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Net migration hit a record-breaking 745,000 in 2022, according to revised figures from the Office for National Statistics, as its latest numbers showed 672,000 people came to the UK in the 12 months to June 2023.

In its last figures released in May, the ONS said the number for last year was 606,000 – then deemed a record high.

But looking at the numbers again, the organisation now says the actual figure was almost 140,000 higher than first thought, making it an even more unparalleled statistic.

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The latest numbers released on Wednesday showed net migration had risen when compared to the 12-month figure up to June 2022, which was 607,000, even though it was lower than the surprise annual stat for last year.

However, the ONS said while today’s number represented a drop from that unparalleled number, it was “too early to say if this is the start of a new downward trend”, even though it did indicate a slowing of immigration coupled with increasing emigration.

Net migration is calculated by looking at the number of people arriving in the UK when both immigration (people coming to the UK) and emigration (people leaving the UK) are taken into account.

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Tory backbenchers have already begun to hit out at the numbers, with former minister Simon Clarke saying it was “unsustainable both economically and socially” to have legal migration so high.

Another Conservative MP, Jonathan Gullis, called the figures “completely unacceptable to the majority of the British people”, and called for “drastic action”.

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under increasing pressure from the right of his party to reduce net migration in light of the 2019 Tory manifesto, which promised to bring the “overall number down”.

Home Secretary James Cleverly insisted the government remained “completely committed to reducing levels of legal migration, while also “focusing relentlessly” on tackling illegal migration.

He said ministers were “working across government on further measures to prevent exploitation and manipulation of our visa system, including clamping down on those that take advantage of the flexibility of the immigration system”.

But Labour’s shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said today’s statistics showed “the scale of utter Tory failure on immigration, asylum, and the economy”.

Expect clamour from Tory right as Sunak seeks to strike delicate balance

It’s more bad news for the government on migration.

There are lots of headline figures coming out of the ONS figures today, but the most important one is that net migration to the UK in the year to December 2022 has been revised up to 745,000.

That is a huge number, both higher than previously thought and a new record.

In the 2019 manifesto, the Conservatives pledged to “bring overall numbers down”, with Boris Johnson talking about 250,000.

Rishi Sunak has tried to move away from specific targets, but he has put immigration, in particular illegal migration, at the heart of his pitch to the country.

Whatever complexities behind rising figures, expect a clamour from the right of the Conservative Party.

I’m told there could be an intervention from former home secretary Suella Braverman who, we understand, along with immigration minister Robert Jenrick, had previously pushed for an overall cap to net migration when she was in office.

We expect we could hear more from the Home Office about measures to bring down net migration as early as next week.

I understand this could include a crackdown on abuses in the visa system, increasing salary thresholds, changes to the rules on bringing families over on working visas and looking again at the shortage occupation scheme.

The PM knows, however, there is a delicate balance to be struck when it comes to economic concerns over workforce shortages.

The current home secretary appears to be keeping a low profile for now, but expect more on net migration over the coming weeks.

James Cleverly knows immigration matters to many voters and to his party.

In 2010, then prime minister David Cameron – now Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron – pledged to bring net migration down to the “tens of thousands”, though successive Tory governments have sought to move away from exact targets.

According to the ONS, most people arriving in the UK in the year to June 2023 were non-EU nationals – a total of 968,000 – followed by 129,000 EU citizens and 84,000 British people.

But both EU nationals and Britons were leaving the country in greater numbers, with 10,000 more EU nationals leaving than arriving and 86,000 more British nationals leaving than arriving – while the net figure for non-EU people was 768,000 more arriving than leaving.

Work was the biggest reason people from outside the EU migrated to the UK – a net figure of 278,000 and the first time employment was the most popular reason – followed by a net figure of 263,000 coming for study.

The recent rise in work visas was mainly driven by people taking jobs in the health and care sectors.

But when it came to those studying, the ONS’s Jay Lindop said the number was rising as “we’re not only seeing more students arrive, but we can also see they’re staying for longer”.

They also said more dependants of people with work and study visas had come to the UK too.

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Meanwhile, the number of people granted asylum to the UK for the year has remained relatively stable, as while it hit 88,000, compared with 73,000 in year to June 2022, ongoing COVID restrictions in that period had an impact.

The ONS said migration to the UK had been “relatively stable” before the COVID pandemic, but “patterns and behaviours have been shifting considerably since then”.

The statistics experts said net migration had “increased sharply” since 2021 due to a rise in immigration from non-EU countries – including people coming by humanitarian routes from Ukraine and Hong Kong – as well as an increase in non-EU students and workers.

Government wants to bring migration down

The government has insisted it remains committed to reducing migration, and has already introduced measures to reduce the figure, including stopping international students who come to the UK from bringing family with them except under specific circumstances.

The New Conservatives group on the Tory right has called for ministers to close temporary visa schemes for care workers and to cap the number of refugees resettling in the UK at 20,000, in a bid to reduce net migration to 226,000 by the time of the election.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr Sunak’s policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda – a key part of his plan to stop small boats crossing the Channel – was unlawful.

The Rwanda policy would see anyone arriving in the UK by unauthorised means, such as by Channel crossings, deported to the African country to claim asylum there and not the UK.

But in its landmark ruling last Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that those sent to Rwanda would be at “real risk” of being sent back to their country of origin regardless of whether their asylum claim was justified or not – something that would breach international human rights laws.

In the aftermath of the ruling, Mr Sunak doubled down on the policy, telling MPs he was prepared to “change laws and revisit… international relationships” if they were “frustrating” his plans.

However, he also acknowledged that even if domestic laws were changed, the government could still face legal challenges from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and vowed: “I will not allow a foreign court to block these flights.”

The stalemate over Rwanda has bolstered calls from some in the Tory party for the UK to withdraw from the ECHR altogether after an injunction last June stopped the first scheduled flights from taking off.

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Zarah Sultana drops legal threat to reconcile with Jeremy Corbyn after row

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Zarah Sultana drops legal threat to reconcile with Jeremy Corbyn after row

Zarah Sultana has said she will not pursue legal action in a bid to repair the row that has engulfed her new political party with Jeremy Corbyn.

Ms Sultana, who co-leads “Your Party” with the former Labour leader, initially said she had hired defamation lawyers following a public spat in which she was accused of launching her own “unauthorised” membership drive.

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The former Labour MP, who now represents Coventry South as an independent, admitted she had launched the membership portal without her co-leader’s sign-off, but claimed she did so because she had been “sidelined” by a “sexist boys club”.

Her actions led to Mr Corbyn issuing his own statement, in which he urged members of the party – which has been given the interim name of Your Party – to ignore an “unauthorised” email urging them to become paid members and that legal advice was being taken.

In a fresh statement issued on Sunday evening, Ms Sultana acknowledged her supporters had been left feeling “demoralised” by the saga.

“For the sake of the party, and as an act of good faith, I will not be pursuing legal proceedings despite the baseless and unsubstantiated allegations against me,” she said.

“I know many people are feeling demoralised – I share that feeling. We find ourselves in a regrettable situation, but my motivation has always been to ensure the collective strength of our movement, put members first and build the genuinely democratic conference and socialist party we so urgently need.”

She added: “I am determined to reconcile and move forward. I am engaged in ongoing discussions with Jeremy, for whom, like all socialists of my generation, I have nothing but respect.”

Your Party got off to a shaky start when it was announced by Ms Sultana in early July, in a move that appeared to blindside Mr Corbyn.

The pair confirmed the launch a few weeks later, sharing a link to a website called Yourparty.co.uk.

It was later clarified that that was an interim name and that party members would decide a formal name at its inaugural conference in the autumn.

It is understood there are still expectations the conference will go ahead, despite the public fallout last week.

Read more:
Inside Jeremy Corbyn’s new party and the battle for leadership
What is happening at Your Party?

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What is happening at Your Party?

Despite her current attempts to repair the row, Your Party reported itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office last week after the “false membership” system was “unilaterally launched” by Ms Sultana – which it said was its duty under the law.

Questions remain over the handling of the data, which, as outlined in Your Party’s privacy notice, is owned by the Peace and Justice Project, spearheaded by the former Labour leader and independent activist Pamela Fitzpatrick, who are listed as the directors on Companies House.

The Coventry MP said in a statement after the row broke out that “at no point was members’ data misused or put at risk” and that the portal was “properly launched in accordance with the party’s roadmap”.

The ICO watchdog, which upholds information rights in the public interest, can issue fines up to £17.5m or 4% of global turnover, or pass fraud and negligence cases to police.

A spokesperson for the ICO told Sky News on Friday: “We can confirm we have received a report and are assessing the information provided.”

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First Chinese CNH stablecoin debuts as global race heats up

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First Chinese CNH stablecoin debuts as global race heats up

First Chinese CNH stablecoin debuts as global race heats up

Governments around the world are exploring and launching stablecoins to remain competitive against dollar-pegged digital fiat tokens.

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Sir Ed Davey brands Elon Musk a criminal and calls for his arrest for ‘allowing online harm to children’

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Sir Ed Davey brands Elon Musk a criminal and calls for his arrest for 'allowing online harm to children'

Sir Ed Davey has branded Elon Musk a criminal and called for him to be prosecuted for “allowing online harm to children” on his social media platform X.

The Lib Dem leader told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips the billionaire owner of X, formerly Twitter, is “inciting violence” and his social media platform is actively failing to protect children.

Sir Ed, speaking from the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, said Mr Musk could be prosecuted under the Online Safety Act, under which social media companies have a legal duty to protect children from harmful content and their directors are liable for criminal prosecution for breaching it.

Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Elon Musk. Pic: Reuters

Asked if he is calling Mr Musk a criminal, Sir Ed did not miss a beat as he said: “Yes.

“Not just because of the awful things he’s done in inciting violence, and, for example, he says a civil war in our country is inevitable, that our democratically elected government should be overthrown.

“They were bad enough. But on his platform, they’re examples of adverse, pushing people on self-harm, on grooming, even selling videos showing paedophile acts, of child sex abuse acts and I think he should be held to account for them, him personally and his business.

“Ofcom now has the powers under the Online Safety Act.”

More on Elon Musk

He said if Mr Musk comes to the UK, he should be arrested.

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Lib Dems toughen up immigration rhetoric

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Sir Ed Davey enters conference with marching band

Mr Musk was accused of inciting violence during a march organised by Tommy Robinson in London last week.

He told the protest via video link: “This is a message to the reasonable centre, the people who ordinarily wouldn’t get involved in politics, who just want to live their lives. They don’t want that, they’re quiet, they just go about their business.

“My message is to them: if this continues, that violence is going to come to you, you will have no choice. You’re in a fundamental situation here.

“Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that’s the truth, I think.”

Sir Ed Davey said Elon Musk should be arrested
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Sir Ed Davey said Elon Musk should be arrested

Sir Ed said it is “shocking” that Mr Musk removed some of X’s child safety teams when he took over Twitter in 2022 and accused him of just being “interested in his bank account”.

“I’m interested in the safety of our children, and it is quite wrong that his business puts on these adverts,” said the Lib Dem leader.

“It’s disgusting and I hope everybody will agree with me and the Liberal Democrats that we should take really strong action against him.”

After Mr Musk acquired Twitter, many of its child safety staff were laid off or resigned, and the platform’s trust and safety council was disbanded.

Child protection experts have accused Mr Musk of leading a “race to the bottom on safety”.

Elon Musk with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
Image:
Elon Musk with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Pic: AP

Ofcom, the UK’s independent media regulator, which has the power to prosecute directors of social media platforms under the Online Safety Act, has launched an investigation into X’s handling of child sexual abuse content.

This is not the first time Sir Ed has hit out at the world’s richest man, as he called for the US ambassador to be summoned in February “to ask why an incoming US official is suggesting the UK government should be overthrown”.

Mr Musk reacted by calling Sir Ed a “snivelling cretin”.

Sir Ed is expected to reiterate his call for Mr Musk’s arrest at his conference speech on Tuesday.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

He will accuse Mr Musk of being motivated by “his own ego, power and wealth, rather than the rights and freedoms of the British people”.

The Lib Dems will also table a parliamentary motion summoning Mr Musk to the House of Commons “to be reprimanded for his actions”.

Sky News has approached X and Elon Musk for comment, but as of publication has received no response.

X maintains it has “zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material” and claims tackling those who exploit children is a “top priority”.

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