In my view, people have every right to express concern at high levels of immigration, without getting slapped down as ‘bigoted’ or ‘old fashioned’. Migration into the UK was allowed to spiral under the last Labour Government and this demographic change has put considerable pressure on communities and services. That is why the Conservative Party is so determined to get immigration back under control and fulfil our promise to reduce net to down from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands by the end of this Parliament. The latest figures show that we are making considerable progress on that front, with net migration falling by 59,000 this year. At the same time as closing loopholes and restricting the number of people coming to this country, we are also making sure that our doors are open only to those capable of making a positive contribution to our society and to our economy. This selectivity is a critical component of our comprehensive immigration policy and it is already paying off.
To read more about these latest figures, please visit the Home Office website, here: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/media-centre/news/net-migration-down