The immigration hotspots of England and Wales are today laid bare in an interactive map following another record-busting year.
In an extraordinary revision of Government estimates, Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysts revealed a staggering 906,000 people were added to the UK’s population during the year ending June 2023.
This was 166,000 – or 22 per cent – higher than the agency’s original toll, which itself was an all-time high.
ONS bosses have yet to update their estimates for individual authorities, meaning the true immigration levels could be even greater than our map suggests in parts of the country.
Middlesbrough – home to roughly 150,000 people – was this summer named as being the council most-affected by immigration, registering an influx of just shy of 6,800 international migrants throughout 2023.
The ONS’s most up-to-date figures, therefore, imply international migration last year alone accounted for roughly 4.4 per cent of Middlesbrough’s total population.
Similarly high figures were logged in Coventry (4.3 per cent) and Newham in London (3.9 per cent).
Sky-high immigration levels meant parts of the capital welcomed up to 240 more residents per square kilometre last year, heaping even greater pressure on housing, schools and the struggling NHS.
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Birmingham logged the biggest net gain last year in international migrants, becoming home to nearly 25,000 citizens from outside the UK. Given the city has a population of 1.2million, however, the effects of international migration aren’t as stark as they are in Middlesbrough.
Only South Holland and the Isles of Scilly saw a higher number of international emigrants than immigrants, according to MailOnline’s analysis of 318 districts in England and Wales.
This figure reflects people immigrating from outside of the UK.
Movement around the UK – known as internal migration – is recorded separately.
The ONS cautions there might be some overlap in the data, although it is unclear by how much because of the difficulties in examining population flow.
For example, the same person could be classed as both an international immigrant and internal emigrant. They could also die, further confusing the picture.
Government statistics yesterday revealed 728,000 more people were added to the UK’s population in the year ending June 2024.
That figure was almost as high as the previous record, set in the previous 12-month spell.
But the bar was shifted upwards because of the ONS’s revision to the 740,000 estimate it originally published.
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The ONS said it now has more complete data and has also improved how it estimates the migration behaviour of people arriving in the UK from outside the EU.
It estimated that fewer EU nationals departed the country, and more students from outside the EU stayed after finishing courses.
However, the latest revisions will fuel criticism of the statistical body, which is already under intense fire for faulty labour force numbers.
The scale of the inflows – with the peak roughly equivalent to adding two cities the same size as Leicester in a year – is poised to spark a fresh political row.
Numbers from outside the EU have exploded since 2021, after the Brexit deal took effect.
Of the 1.2million people who came to live in the UK in the 12 months to June 2024, around 86 per cent – a million – hailed from outside the EU.
Indian was the most common nationality for both work-related (116,000) and study-related (127,000) reasons.
Kemi Badenoch used a major speech last night to insist the Tories would not allow Britain to be treated like a ‘hotel’ for migrants.
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She warned yesterday that immigration levels are ‘a world away from where we need to be’ as she promised a ‘strict numerical cap’ on arrivals. Only those able to make a ‘substantial and clear contribution’ to Britain will be allowed in, the Tory leader said.
Ms Badenoch will review Britain’s membership of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the continuation of Labour’s Human Rights Act, which have both been blamed for blocking past attempts to get tough.
The Tory leader said there would be ‘zero tolerance for foreign criminals remaining in the UK’.
Following their landslide election win, Labour immediately vowed to tackle the small boats crisis with its Border Security Command to counter trafficking gangs and people smugglers.
Ex-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak‘s plan to send migrants to Rwanda was canned, however.
Revealed: England’s five immigration hotspots, by Darren Boyle
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough has witnessed its population grow from 138,368 in 2011 to north of 150,000 in 2023.
Last year the total of new foreign migrants arriving in the town was 4.44 per cent of the total population, analysis suggested.
Meanwhile, 480 housing units were started in the last financial year, while 600 were completed.
The local NHS trust treats 61.6 per cent of patients within the 18-week NHS England target.
Half of all patients in the area are treated within 14 weeks, while 92/100 patients wait 43 weeks for a consultation with a consultant.
Some 97 per cent of primary school children and 83 per cent of secondary students receive their first choice option.
Middlesbrough has reported the highest percentage of new arrivals to the UK over the past year compared with their population
Leicester
In Leicester, data suggests 3.6 per cent of the total population are immigrants who arrived in the area over the past financial year.
The population of the city has grown by more than 13 per cent between 2011 and 2023, rising from 329,627 to 379,780.
The city has seen 110 new homes started with a further 260 properties completed over the past 12 months.
The local NHS trust manages to see 59.4 per cent of patients within the 18-week NHS England guideline.
Half of all patients referred to a consultant receive their first appointment within 15 works, while 97 per cent of primary and 81 per cent of secondary pupils receive their first choice school.
Leicester has reported that more than 3.5 per cent of their population has arrived in the UK over the past year
Coventry
In Coventry, the population has increased from 316,915 to 360,702 between 2011 and 2023, a rise of 12 per cent.
Last year the number of new migrants to the city made up a total of 4.31 per cent of the population, MailOnline’s calculations implied.
Over the past financial year, 690 new homes were started while a further 730 were completed in the city.
Some 54.2 per cent of patients being referred to a consultant at the local NHS trust receive their first appointment within 18 weeks.
In schools, 94.5 per cent of primary and 81.8 per cent of secondary school pupils received their first choice.
Last year the number of new migrants to Coventry made up a total of 4.31 per cent of the population
Camden
In Camden, the population of the borough has only increased by 0.37 per cent since 2011.
Data suggests that 3.48 per cent of the population have arrived from overseas in the past year.
The borough has seen 70 new homes started and 70 completed over the past financial year, while 59 per cent of NHS patients in the area receive their initial consultant-led treatment within 18 weeks.
Half of all patients receive that consultation within 15 weeks, while 92 out of 100 were seen within 46 weeks.
In schools, only 84 per cent of primary school students and 76 per cent of secondary school pupils received their first choice.
In Camden, 3.48 per cent of the population have arrived from overseas in the past year
Newham
In Newham, the population has increased by more than 14 per cent between 2011 and 2023, jumping from 310,460 to 362,552 over that period.
In the past 12 months, 3.94 per cent of the borough’s population is thought to have arrived from abroad, however, with 2,080 new houses started and 1,480 completed, they had the largest number of developments of the five areas.
Almost 55 per cent of patients referred for hospital treatment at the local trust are seen within the 18-week target.
Meanwhile, 92 per cent of primary school pupils and 69.5 per cent of secondary school students receive their first choice options.
In the past 12 months, 3.94 per cent of the London Borough of Newham’s population has arrived from abroad
