Author: Noah Sanderson

Mass Immigration and Housing: A Dual Crisis

Today, few would deny that the UK is deeply divided in more ways than one. Despite this, there seems to be one point of consensus: the country is not doing well. A common phrase bandied about by media outlets is that of ‘managed decline’. Considering the severity of recent events in the UK, this phrase seems rather tepid.

For years, an undercurrent of discontent has been growing surrounding the crises of both housing and migration. Whilst there has been no shortage of calls to reign these problems in, the eruption we witnessed in early August truly reveals the rage that has been bubbling. Though we were all horrified to witness the violence and destruction to communities that came from these riots, mass imprisonment and two-tier policing will do little to solve the problem.

Herein lies the importance of facing the sobering reality. The consequence of mass migration is not a matter confined to a newspaper column or the odd question during PMQs. It is critical to the very fabric of our society and to the lives of its people. When violence spills out on to our streets, then we simply can not afford to tell ourselves that everything is fine.

When 55% of the public supports a reduction in immigration, 38% of whom believe that it should be reduced ‘by a lot’, it is time to be honest with ourselves. Mass immigration is hurting us. Though it has produced an entire web of disaster, the housing crisis is an example we all know too well.

The Blair government brought in a series of reforms which stood against the backdrop of rising immigration levels. This trend not only continued under the Conservative watch, but it accelerated. Having steadily risen for over 20 years, total immigration reached a staggering 1.2 million in 2022. Throughout this decade, we have seen the highest levels ever recorded.

Along with an unprecedented tidal wave of immigration, the UK has also experienced an explosion in population. Over 20 years, the population has risen by 8 million, 60% of which was due to net migration. Between 2022 and 2023 alone, the population increased by about 610,000 despite there being only 400 more recorded births than deaths. In other words, immigration is the prime cause for an unsustainable explosion in the UK’s population. It is not increasing in newborns who live with their parents for at least 18 years. It is increasing in adults who require their own accommodation.

These figures are shocking. The only thing more disturbing than the scale of this issue is the current government’s inertia in dealing with it. There is little reason to believe that it will make any effort to slow things down, driving us further into crisis. The numbers themselves are concerning, but not as concerning as what they represent. The housing crisis is only going from bad to worse.

While the Labour government opens new hotels for illegal migrants at the taxpayers’ expense, these same taxpayers struggle to find affordable housing. Since the onset of mass immigration, the affordability of housing has collapsed. The market has simply buckled under the weight of a surging population. According to published statistics, the average cost of a house in proportion to the average wage nearly doubled since 1999. The average deposit paid by first-time buyers was £53,414.

For those in their twenties, the prospect of affording a mortgage deposit let alone a house is a pipe dream. This is a barrier not only to owning a home, but also to other major milestones which previous generations took for granted. It strains the lives of those affected, which undermines overall productivity and strains the lives of us all. It is with little doubt that mass immigration is the reason for this crisis.

Mass immigration is effectively drowning efforts to increase the housing stock. Despite continued efforts to build more homes, we simply cannot keep up. A study by the Centre for Policy Studies revealed that between 2013 and 2023, net migration accounted for 89% of the deficit in additional homes. The impact is most felt in London and the South-East, where much of the UK’s economic activity is found.

With such jaw-dropping prices, it is unsurprising that young people largely turn to renting. However, they find that the renting market is also strangled by the effects of mass immigration. An ONS study found that between 2014 and 2016, 88% of EU migrants and 80% of non-EU migrants privately rented, with the CPS deducting that this introduced an additional 450,000 people to the renting market in 2022. Seeing as rent inflation is largely affected by the supply and demand of housing, it is not surprising that it has consistently climbed by the year.

In other words, housing shortages which were created by mass immigration have diverted additional migrants to the rental market. As a result, housing affordability has continued to plummet across the board. By continuing to hide our head in the sand, we are not only crippling our own housing market. We are robbing our youth of their future, a future which they will have had no hand in creating.

Therefore, we have neither the luxury nor the right to sit by and allow our government to incinerate the aspirations of ourselves and our posterity. To save the situation, we must hold those who perpetuate this crisis to account. If you do not want to see our future robbed, then you must take action at the ballot box. As it stands, Reform UK is the only party committed to a net-zero migration policy. You must make it clear that your vote is conditional – the only candidate you are willing to support is one who stands on this common-sense platform.

The best time to act was yesterday. The second-best time is now. Make your voice heard, and we may be able to reverse this crisis.