Poles are now largest foreign-born contingent in Britain as migration grows

Poles have overtaken Indians to become the largest foreign-born contingent in Britain as net migration continues at near record levels, official figures revealed today.

The Office for National Statistics said that 831,000 Polish-born people were living in Britain at the end of 2015. That is a rise of 41,000 in a year, and means that Poles now account for nearly one in 10 of the country’s 8.6 million foreign-born residents.

The surge in Polish arrivals meant that 795,000 Indian-born residents, for many years the largest overseas group in Britain, were pushed into second place.

The next most common foreign contingents nationwide were from Pakistan, Ireland, Germany and Romania — with a total rise to 220,000 — although in London, Indians still head the overseas league table.

Today’s population figures came as other statistics showed that net migration totalled 327,000 in the year to the end of March.

That is 9,000 lower than the record figure recorded a year earlier and also slightly below the 333,000 tally for 2015 announced shortly before the EU referendum.

The new migration total was made up of 633,000 arrivals from overseas last year, balanced against the 306,000 people who emigrated from this country during the same period.

Immigration from within the EU, at 268,000, was slightly lower than the inflow of 282,000 from countries outside the EU, but is still the second highest total ever recorded for European arrivals.

One reason is a record number of migrants from Romania and Bulgaria, which together accounted for an inflow of 69,000 people, a record annual high for those from the two countries.

The number of births to women born outside the UK has also reached the highest level on record, accounting for 27 per cent of babies born last year.

Polish women accounted for the largest number of births. In the last five years, more than 210,000 babies have been born to eastern European mothers living in the UK.

The statistics will add to the pressure on Theresa May to reduce net migration, following the Brexit vote in which immigration was a key issue for a significant number of voters.