Latest immigration figures make a mockery of Cameron’s pledge

The latest immigration figures have laid bare the impossibility of David Cameron fulfilling his commitment to cut net immigration to 100,000 per year by 2015. According to new figures from the Office for National Statistics, 560,000 people migrated to the UK in the year ending March 2014, up from 492,000 in the previous 12 months. Two-thirds of the increase is accounted for by immigration of EU citizens. 28,000 Romanian and Bulgarian citizens immigrated to the UK over the same time period, up from 12,000 in the previous 12 months. Overall net migration (new arrivals less departures) rose to 243,000 from 175,000 the previous year, the Office for National Statistics said.

Besides the deluge of Central and Eastern European, the Eurozone crisis has resulted in large numbers of young people moving north from countries like Greece, Spain and Italy to seek work. Youth unemployment, according to new data from the Italian national statistics office ISTAT, stood at 42.9% in July, while it remains at over 50% in Spain and Greece. IN such a dire situation, it is no surprise that young people are leaving these countries. While we may not be members of the Eurozone, the principle of free movement of people is causing us to suffer from its failings. Indeed, it is becoming patently obvious that there is no way we can ever get a grip on immigration unless we leave the EU altogether.