Net immigration fell to 431,000 a year BEFORE Labour took power

Immigration had tumbled from record highs before Labour took power, it was revealed today.

Official figures showed net long-term inflows were 431,000 in the year to December, compared with 860,000 across 2023.

The numbers from the ONS suggest the curbs introduced by the Tories were already having an impact - although the level was still roughly equivalent to the population of Leeds.

Keir Starmer unveiled a crackdown on legal immigration last week, warning that failure to control the system risked turning Britain into an 'island of strangers'.

Downing Street was forced to deny angry comparisons from MPs that it was an echo of Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech.