News and commentary
This section of the website contains our latest commentaries on migration news and policy developments, press releases and the Observatory in the news items. All commentaries are written by Rob McNeil in discussion with our experts.
Commentary
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The halfway point: Net migration has fallen, but can the government hit its target?
Today (Thursday 23 May 2013) the government released quarterly migration figures showing that overall net migration to the UK in the year... -
Evidence and values - the UK migration debate 2011-2013
In the two years since the Migration Observatory was launched in March 2011, immigration policy has consistently been a major issue for the... -
Migration Observatory: Independent and Evidence-Based
Today the Daily Mail – a British tabloid newspaper – features an attack on the independence of the Migration Observatory. This attack is... -
Romania and Bulgaria: The accession guessing game
On 1 January 2013 the European Union began a one-year countdown to the end of labour market restrictions on Romania and Bulgaria (the 'A2... -
Pole position - New Census data shows ten-fold growth of England and Wales’ Polish population
Today’s (11 December 2012) release of new data from the 2011 Census provides a wealth of information about the foreign-born populations of... -
Student visas and long-term immigration estimates: A simple relationship?
Last week (29 November 2012) the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released the new provisional long-term migration estimates, which show... -
A degree of confusion – what do people in the UK think about international students?
This week (September 17 2012) details of a new survey were published by MigrationWatch – a pressure group campaigning for lower... -
Entries, Exits and Errors
Today (30 August 2012) the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the provisional estimate for net migration in 2011, indicating... -
The EU shuffle: How does freedom of movement in the EU affect migration to and from the UK?
In recent weeks EU migration to the UK has become – once again – a political hot potato. Home Secretary Theresa May suggested that the UK... -
Under Control?
Today the Office for National Statistics has released quarterly figures showing that net migration, in the year to September 2011 remained... -
A magnet for migrants? How does the UK’s migrant population growth compare with that in other high-income countries?
As the global population has increased considerably in the last two decades, so too has the number of international migrants - which...
Press releases
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Exceeding expectations: Net migration decreases faster than government projections
23rd May 2013The new Migration Observatory commentary, The Halfway Point, explains that latest ONS statistics show net migration at 153,00,000 for the... -
Progress toward net migration target; most difficult part still to come
28th February 2013Today’s (Thursday, 28 February 2013) data from the ONS show that net migration to the UK continued to fall in the year to June 2012 -... -
Guesstimates won’t help the UK prepare for Romanian and Bulgarian migration
15th February 2013This means that any numbers provided will be, at best, informed guesses and therefore not reliable enough to develop policy responses. The... -
Census shows 2.9 million increase in England and Wales' foreign-born population. India and Poland dominate.
11th December 2012New Census data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the foreign-born population of England and Wales increased by more... -
Net migration decreases across all routes - but ‘old EU’ bucks the trend
29th November 2012Dr Scott Blinder, Deputy Director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University said: “The fact that this decline appears to be across... -
The UK population debate: Time to move beyond the rhetoric
5th September 2012The report, Britain’s 70 Million Debate, has been produced by the Migration Observatory to inform policy makers ahead of Thursday’s (... -
New data shows uncertainty around migration estimates.
30th August 2012The ONS notes that the 2011 decline in the estimate of net-migration is “not statistically significant” – which means that it cannot be... -
Any plans to limit the UK population must be evidence based
16th July 2012Today’s release of data from the UK census shows that the population of England and Wales stands at 56,075,900. This means that if the... -
Media advisory: The role of the EU in UK net migration
29th June 2012In its latest commentary, The EU Shuffle, the Migration Observatory shows: That freedom of movement within the EU is responsible for more... -
Women, young people and non-Londoners are most affected by changes to family migration policy
12th June 2012The Government announced today that those people who hope to bring a spouse or other family member from outside the EU to the UK will need... -
Press Release: The Net Migration Bounce
29th February 2012In its latest commentary the Migration Observatory demonstrates how this bounce takes place by looking at short-term and longer-term...
Observatory in the news
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The Economic Times cites our London Census profile
21st May 2013The Economic Times cites our London Census profile. -
MSN News cites our London Census profile
21st May 2013MSN News cites our London Census profile. -
Fullfact cites our briefing on London census data
21st May 2013Fullfact cites our briefing on London census data in a post correcting the Sun's coverage of our research. -
La Repubblica cites our London Census profile
20th May 2013La Repubblica cites our London Census profile. -
The International Business Times cites our London Census profile
20th May 2013The International Business Times cites our London Census profile. -
The Sun cites our briefing on London census data
20th May 2013The Sun cites our briefing on the 2011 London census data. -
Dr Scott Blinder appears on BBC Sunday Politics Scotland
19th May 2013Dr Scott Blinder appears on BBC Sunday Politics Scotland discussing Scottish public opinion toward immigration (clip at 1:32). -
The International Business Times cites our briefing on the fiscal impact of immigration in the UK
10th May 2013The International Business Times cites our briefing on the fiscal impact of immigration in the UK -
A Telegraph blog mentions the Migration Observatory
10th May 2013A Telegraph blog mentions the Migration Observatory in a post discussing our charity funders. -
The Guardian cites our briefing on immigration, population and ethnicity
6th May 2013The Courier cites our briefing on immigration, population and ethnicity. -
The Courier cites our briefing on immigration, population and ethnicity
3rd May 2013The Courier cites our briefing on immigration, population and ethnicity.
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