One in five born abroad: Yusuf calls record migrant population a ‘betrayal’

Britain now hosts a record 13.1 million foreign-born residents, prompting Reform UK shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf to condemn the rise as an unprecedented political betrayal. According to official data, roughly one in five people living in the UK were born abroad.

Writing on social media, Reform UK’s shadow home secretary Zia Yusuf highlighted that the 2024 foreign-born population total surged by 143% compared to levels seen in the mid-2000s. Yusuf argued that both the Conservative and Labour parties had repeatedly promised voters they would cut immigration, only for the settled population numbers to scale record highs.

The figures cited align directly with data from Oxford’s Migration Observatory, which confirms that 13.1 million people living in the UK were born abroad in 2024. This accounts for 19% of the entire population, a substantial jump from approximately 5.4 million, or 9%, back in 2004. Official census records from 2021 and 2022 previously placed the foreign-born total at 10.7 million, equivalent to 16%.

Stock Levels Versus Annual Flows

While annual net migration figures have dropped significantly from a peak of 944,000 in the year leading up to March 2023 down to 171,000 in the year ending December 2025, Yusuf contends that the primary issue lies with the total stock of people already settled in the country. He noted that the foreign-born share has nearly doubled over two decades despite frequent political pledges to regain border control.

• Total foreign-born residents reached 13.1 million in 2024.
• Foreign-born population makes up 19% of the UK population.
• Mid-2000s baseline stood at 5.4 million, or 9%.
• Net migration fell from a peak of 944,000 to 171,000.

That’s what the Tories and Labour did to this country. After promising repeatedly to cut immigration. Unprecedented betrayal.

— Zia Yusuf, Reform UK Shadow Home Secretary, X

Neither Labour nor Conservative central headquarters issued an immediate formal reply to the online remarks. Representatives for both governing and opposition parties maintain that net migration levels are falling rapidly and that tighter rules have successfully curtailed the post-pandemic arrival surges.

Original source: Read the full report at X