The population of England and Wales surged by over 700,000 in a single year, driven overwhelmingly by immigration, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage branded the rise “disastrous for the quality of life for everyone in the country”, while the Conservatives warned that pressure on housing and social cohesion was “unacceptable”.
The estimated population reached 61.8 million in mid-2024, an increase of 706,881 since mid-2023. This is the second largest annual rise ever recorded, surpassed only by the previous year. Natural change—more births than deaths—accounted for just 29,982 of the increase, with the remainder coming from net migration. There were 1,142,303 arrivals and 452,156 departures.
Opposition politicians condemned the figures as unsustainable. Reform MP Richard Tice said they had “serious implications for the housing crisis, crime rates, and quality of life”. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp called for tougher rules on indefinite leave to remain, including doubling the residency requirement from five to ten years and introducing a hard cap on visas set by Parliament.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper blamed the previous Conservative government for cutting training and allowing low-skilled migration to soar. She said Labour would deliver a “properly controlled and managed” immigration system. The population grew by 1.2% in the year to June 2024, down from 1.4% the previous year but above the 0.7% average of the prior decade.
