Net migration trending downwards but remains historically high — Government must go further, says CPS
Provisional data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published today shows net migration totalled 431,000 in 2024 Numbers are beginning to trend down thanks to the previous government’s reforms, but remain extraordinarily high by historical standards Net migration between 2021 and 2024 totalled 2.65 million, representing population growth of 3.9% The latest figure of… View Article
Sadiq Khan needs to stop boasting and start building, warns CPS
This week, Sadiq Khan has been promising radical action to fix London’s housing problems. But new figures confirm that London’s affordable housing programme, overseen by the Mayor, continues to fall woefully short of targets. In the year April 2024 to March 2025, a total of 3,661 affordable homes were started under the programme. This is… View Article
Immigration White Paper: right rhetoric, but light on solutions
Responding to the Government’s new Immigration White Paper, CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: ‘The publication of today’s Immigration White Paper shows that the Labour Party has, finally, accepted the arguments put forward by the Centre for Policy Studies and others that migration is not an unmitigated economic good, that various visa routes such as… View Article
Labour’s welfare plans neglect key areas, says new CPS briefing
Despite the Government’s planned welfare reforms, health-related benefits are still projected to grow three times faster than the economy as a whole – increasing by an average of 5.3% a year over the remainder of the 2020s, compared with the expected GDP growth rate of 1.6% Labour have correctly acknowledged the scale of the problem… View Article
Spring Statement: No more tax rises, but for how long?
Responding to the Spring Statement, CPS Director Robert Colvile said: ‘Given where Rachel Reeves found herself, the Chancellor should be congratulated for not making things worse – in particular, by raising taxes again. ‘It was also welcome to see the Government focusing on reducing the welfare bill, cutting the size of the Civil Service and… View Article
Labour’s overly statist approach to Net Zero risks hurting households
The Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon budget, released today, sets the targets for Britain’s carbon emissions covering the years 2038-42 The pathway set out relies heavily on electrification, with rapid continued uptake of EVs and heat pumps. To accomplish this, one of the CCC’s key recommendations is ‘making electricity cheaper’ Yet Ed Miliband’s ideological dash… View Article
Recent migration wave may cost country billions, warns CPS
Earlier this week, the Conservative Party shone a spotlight on the need to reform the Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) system Today, new CPS research shows that between January 2021 and June 2024, just over 2 million visas were issued to migrants who will be eligible to apply for ILR in the UK The first… View Article
CPS responds to the Chancellor’s growth speech
Responding to Rachel Reeves’ speech this morning, CPS Director Robert Colvile said: ‘The vast bulk of the Chancellor’s speech was hugely welcome – and indeed echoed arguments the Centre for Policy Studies has been making forcefully for years. She is right that growth needs to be the absolute priority, that excessive and often conflicting regulation… View Article
CPS responds to ONS population data
Responding to the ONS population figures released today, CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: ‘Once again, ONS population projections have net migration running at unsustainable levels – 340,000 per annum from 2029 onwards and accounting for the entirety of the population growth. The reality may in fact be even higher given the projections assume net… View Article
Cost of employing low-wage workers to hit record high in 2025, according to new analysis
Businesses employing low-wage workers will see a massive hike in their tax bills in 2025 The Chancellor’s decision to raise employer’s National Insurance has led to a whopping 60% tax increase for businesses employing the lowest paid In 2024, an employer paid £1,617 in NICs for each full-time employee on minimum wage. In 2025 they… View Article
CPS calls for clarity over Miliband’s ‘lower bills’ claim
Ed Miliband today repeated his claim that his energy plans will deliver ‘lower bills’ for consumers. But his own announcement claims merely that his plans ‘could see’ bills fall. And as recent Centre for Policy Studies analysis has shown, that is only in a scenario in which both gas and carbon prices are far higher… View Article
New report shows how Tories can win again
In July, the Conservatives suffered one of the worst election defeats in their history. A new report based on polling of 4,000 voters and immersive research in the marginal seats of Don Valley, Guildford and Swindon shows that it was the Conservatives’ concrete failures on the economy, migration and the NHS that doomed the party,… View Article
New analysis raises severe questions over Miliband’s energy plans
Ed Miliband claims that a recent report from the National Energy System Operator (NESO), commissioned on his instructions, vindicates both his plan to decarbonise the power grid by 2030 and his claim that this will be cheaper for consumers But analysis of the NESO paper by the Centre for Policy Studies shows that its underlying… View Article
CPS responds to ONS migration figures
Responding to the ONS migration figures released today, CPS Research Director Karl Williams said: ‘Today’s net migration figures from the ONS are astonishing. Not only is the figure of 728k for 2023-4 far higher than expected, but numbers for 2022-3 have been revised upwards by 166k to a new record of 906k. The scale of… View Article
CPS welcomes pension fund shake-up
Responding to the Treasury’s announcement, ahead of Rachel Reeves’ Mansion House Speech, CPS Director Robert Colvile said: ‘The announcement that the Treasury plans to push ahead with the amalgamation of the Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) is very welcome. It was the CPS, in a series of reports by pensions expert Michael Johnson, that first… View Article
UK on track for 300-year tax high, shows CPS analysis
Following Rachel Reeves’ Budget on Wednesday, a new report from the Centre for Policy Studies shows that state spending will sit at an astonishing £1.5 trillion by 2029/30 Labour is also choking off growth, with the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicting another five years of mediocre growth and squeezed living standards. Instead of topping… View Article
