Bright Blue has responded to the latest figures on net migration, which shows that net annual migration from end of Q2 2014 to end of Q2 2015 was at a record 336,000.

Commenting, Director of Bright Blue, Ryan Shorthouse, said:

“The Conservative Government needs to develop a strong record of competence on managing our immigration system. That means new, deliverable targets - such as on non-EU gross migration rather than overall net migration - which the public can hold the Government to account on, for example through an Annual Migration Day in parliament. On this day, the Migration Advisory Committee should also publish clear information on the economic and social implications of recent migration. 

“If a target is not met, and more migrants are here than expected, then the government should have to increase the amount of money in the Controlling Immigration Fund, so local areas are given the necessary resources to cope with higher levels of migration. It is no longer good enough for the government to simply keep apologising for not meeting its immigration targets. There should be real consequences for government failure".