The UK is facing a changing migration landscape (Image: Getty)
Labour has been accused of “trading” Britain’s brightest minds for “lower-wage” migrants. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was warned that taxpayers will have to pay out even more for low-skilled foreign nationals, as they make up a greater number of the cohort moving to the UK.
New figures published by the Office for National Statistics sparked fears that talented young Brits are leaving due to high taxes and deteriorating living conditions.
Some 246,000 Brits left the UK last year, while 627,000 migrants arrived from non-EU countries. Among those who left the cohort were 126,000 16-34 year-olds.
But the number of younger people returning has been falling consistently over the past four years.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “British citizens are leaving the UK on a massive scale, driven away by Labour’s high taxes. Yet non-EU immigration, mainly from low-income countries, remains far too high.
Labour must go further and reform indefinite leave to remain before its hard-left flank forces it to abandon it altogether.n lower wages, longer waiting lists for public services and housing shortages. Labour must go further and reform indefinite leave to remain before their hard-left flank forces them to abandon it altogether.
“The next Conservative Government will introduce a binding annual immigration cap at a very low level, close the loopholes that let temporary visa holders stay indefinitely and tighten and extend the conditions for ILR.
“We want a small number of highly skilled migrants and no low-skilled migration at all. But sadly, Labour do not have the backbone to do any of it.”
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said: “Migration still isn’t low. Over 700,000 immigrants came here in 2025. WhaWe are in an exodus of our brightest and best young people, and Labour is trading them for lower-wage migrants.” and best young people and Labour are trading them for lower-wage migrants.”
Some 136,000 more British nationals left the country than returned in the year to December 2025, according to data experts at the ONS. Among young people aged 16 to 34, 75,000 more left than returned in that period, the highest number on record.
ONS figures show 246,000 Brits left the country in the year to December, down from 252,000 in the year to September.
Andy Burnham has insisted he will back Shabana Mahmood’s immigration reforms. (Image: Getty)
Emigration among British nationals peaked in the year to September 2021 as the World reopened after the Covid pandemic – 283,000.
Overall net migration dropped to an estimated 171,000 last year, the lowest level since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Academics at the University of Oxford warned that the type of immigration Britain is increasingly experiencing was becoming “less favourable”.
Statisticians at the ONS said 88,000 asylum seekers accounted for 49% of net migration to the UK.
People granted sanctuary in the UK typically have lower employment rates, meaning they may be living on benefits or in council housing.
Dr Ben Brindle, Researcher for the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “The sharp increase in net migration after the pandemic has pushed the foreign-born to its highest ever share of the UK population.
“Migration is down now, but the economic impacts depend more on who is — or is no longer — migrating than how many.
“Today’s data illustrate a challenge the Government faces, namely that the categories of migration it would most like to reduce are the ones least amenable to policy.
“As a result, migration of groups that make positive or broadly neutral economic impacts—such as skilled workers and partners of students is down, while asylum-related migration remains high.
“Since refugees have lower employment rates and often need a lot of support from the state, this means that the composition of recent migration has probably become less favourable from an economic perspective.”
A Government source said: “Andrew Griffith can’t do the numbers – a troubling sign in a man who wants to be Business Secretary.
“Emigration of Brits is down in these statistics and was higher under his Tory Government. We won’t be taking lessons from the Tory party that gave us the highest levels of net migration in this country’s history.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the figures show his Government is “delivering” on his promise to “restore control to our borders”.
Although “real progress has been made”, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said “there is still work to do”, adding: “That is why I am introducing a skills-based migration system that rewards contribution and ends Britain’s reliance on cheap overseas workers.”