More people now live in the UK than in France – for the first time in nearly half-a-century. An estimated 68.5 million live in Britain, against 68.2 million in France, according to recent Office for National Statistics figures, despite France being nearly double the size,. The ‘takeover’ is believed to have occurred sometime around 2023. On current trends, the population gap between the two countries is set to widen much further in the years ahead.

The cost of immigration

And what is the main reason for Britain’s population surge? There is fairly common consensus that it’s due to the unprecedented escalation of immigration to the UK in recent years. With Britain’s birth rate running at below replacement levels, and with 4.9 million people forecast to emigrate in the coming years, the UK’s net population growth is predominantly driven by the arrival on British shores of migrants, millions of whom have already arrived.

Already, and in a trend forecast to continue, the majority of those arriving are Indian, Pakistani, Nigerian and Chinese nationals, many arriving on student visas, work-study visas, social care visas and under the new points-based immigration system.

On current trends, by 2050 as many as one in three of the UK population will have been born abroad.

On current trends, by 2050 as many as one in three of the UK population will have been born abroad. On the latest projection, 14 per cent of the whole UK population will be people who have arrived in the 10 years leading up to it, the great majority of them from the four aforementioned countries. They are moving mostly to the big urban centres – especially London, Leicester, Reading, Oxford and Cambridge.

The anticipated influx will mean millions more people needing somewhere to live, and this, of course, will have a major impact not only on housing, but on transport, healthcare, education and every other kind of public service, at a time when national infrastructure is already straining. As it is, more than six million people sit on NHS waiting lists. A&E departments are buckling under record-breaking delays. There are shortages of teachers and overcrowded classrooms. There is a backlog of more than four million houses.

The cost of legal arrivals ready to claim indefinite leave to remain over the next half-decade has been estimated at a staggering £234 billion in terms of use of services like benefits and social housing. Meanwhile, 11 million people – a quarter of Britain’s working age population – do not have a job, and 3.2 million are on sickness and disability benefits, a million more than before the pandemic.

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Hugary, among numerous others, have all been imposing tighter immigration controls.

Continental crackdown

The unprecedented wave of migration to Europe began around 2015, being strongly encouraged by then German chancellor Angela Merkel - and sparking a European migrant crisis which has never really ended.

It’s taken a long time to get to the root problem, but over the past few years, country after country has begun adopting harsh measures to control their borders, realising the enormous costs of mass migration. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Hugary, among numerous others, have all been imposing tighter immigration controls. The results have been impactful. In 2024, the number of migrants granted asylum in Sweden has dropped to the lowest level in 40 years. Denmark’s asylum admissions have dropped to a record low, with just 860 requests being granted last year.

With over 30,000 migrants (most of them young Muslim men who arrived in Britain by small boat) currently living in hotels at a cost of more than £4 million a day, and with new arrivals being handed free mobile phones and free clothes, at a total cost of almost £4 million over the past three years – the UK is seen as the 'softest touch' for illegal migrants in the western world.

Revealingly, the UK constitutes between 23 and 29% of all illegal immigrants in Europe.

Illegal arrivals

In 2016, one of the major reasons that the British public voted to leave the European Union was again to bring down those levels of net migration. We were promised that we would “take back control” of our borders. But successive UK (Tory) governments betrayed that vote. Instead, immigration soared. Around 1.1 million foreign nationals were added to the population of this country every year since 2021 - albeit only 10 per cent of whom were EU nationals.

In particular, Britain has by far the most illegal immigrants in Europe, according to a recent study led by experts from Oxford University. Revealingly, the UK constitutes between 23 and 29% of all illegal immigrants in Europe. The research shows up to 745,000 asylum seekers are in the country, accounting for 1% of the total population.

This includes foreign arrivals who have overstayed their visas, failed asylum seekers and migrants who have made the treacherous journey across the Channel in small boats. The number is more than double the 300,000 in France and is also ahead of Germany with its estimate of 700,000 (despite Germany’s larger population).

In total, there are estimated to be more than one million illegal migrants in the UK, with 60 per cent of those living in the capital. Indeed, London is home to as many as 585,000 illegal migrants – equivalent of up to one in 13 of the city’s inhabitants. The report – which could be an underestimate as it relies on data from the era prior to migrants arriving on small boats – suggests most illegal migrants arrived in the UK on work, study or visitor visas and then overstayed.

with Muslims now constituting 6.5% of the UK population according to the latest UK census, Islam has gained a disproportionate influence on our culture, leading to a host of attendant concerns.

Disproportionate influence

The surge in immigration has, of course, had a massive effect on British society, making Britain significantly more ethnically and religiously diverse. In particular, with Muslims now constituting 6.5% of the UK population according to the latest UK census, Islam has gained a disproportionate influence on our culture, leading to a host of attendant concerns.¹

Since taking office on 20 January, President Donald Trump has announced as many as 21 immigration-related executive orders, in an attempt to overhaul parts of the US immigration system, thus paving the way for a widespread crackdown on undocumented migrants in the US. Former UK MEP, Lord Daniel Hannan sensationally claimed Trump had done more to deport illegal migrants in four days than Britain has done in seven years!

A biblical response

While Christians may differ in their views on both legal and illegal immigration, there are clear biblical principles that should guide our approach. The very first chapter of the Bible is a good place to start – showing that all individuals are made in the image of God. Therefore, every human being possesses inherent dignity and worth (Gen 1:26-27).

Therefore, every human being possesses inherent dignity and worth

The Prophets had a very strong view about the treatment of immigrants. They frequently call down heavy fire on anyone who claimed to be a follower of Yahweh and mistreated a foreigner. (Jer 22:3; Ezek 22:7, 29; Mal 3:5; cf. Ps 94:6). God’s people were to welcome strangers, and are taught: “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor.” (Zech 7:10). The Law reminded them why it was important: “He [the Lord] defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.” (Deut 10:18-19)

Jesus agreed with the OT prophets, suggesting that love and care for foreigners is evidence of true faith. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matt 25:35, 38). The rest of the New Testament reinforces this theme.

At the same time, Romans 13 makes it abundantly clear that God expects us to obey the laws of the government (Rom 13:1-7). The exception to this is when a law of the government forces us to disobey a command of God (Acts 5:29). Illegal immigration is the breaking of a government’s law. There is nothing in Scripture that contradicts the idea of a sovereign nation having immigration laws.

Avoiding both hostility and naivety

As Christians we must seek to avoid either of two extremes: the tendency in human nature to be overly protectionist – a form of self-centredness, really, manifesting in a hostility to strangers; and, on the other hand, the easy sympathy of being unable to see any limit to our welcome to those we immediately regard as ‘refugees’, despite the hardship this causes for the population as a whole.

... it is surely incumbent on the host population to offer a warm welcome and safe refuge to as many as we can reasonably accommodate.

It is also important to recognise that the massive pressure on infrastructure is causing huge problems for both the native and immigrant populations, with homelessness in the UK now the worst in the developed world, with one in every two hundred households in emergency shelter, and rough sleeping having more than doubled since 2010. Illegal migrants are also at high risk of exploitation and ‘modern slavery’ – meaning that by allowing them to come and stay, we are enabling their abuse.

And clearly, there is a big difference between a migrant illegally traversing across multiple countries to specifically seek entry into the UK to gain better employment opportunities or to receive free government handouts; and the genuine refugee who is fleeing persecution. In the latter case, it is surely incumbent on the host population to offer a warm welcome and safe refuge to as many as we can reasonably accommodate.

Acting tough

Indeed, the current UK government is at last showing signs that it is determined to be tough on illegal immigration, sending enforcement teams to raid over 800 premises across the country in the last few weeks – including nail bars, car washes, and restaurants – and making over 600 arrests. In an equally bold move, the government has this week toughened up rules making it almost impossible for a refugee who arrives in the UK on a small boat to become a British citizen.

 But many believe it is too little, and far too late for the government’s actions to have any reversing effect on the UK’s migration crisis.

Some believe the government is simply feeling pressure to counter the growing popularity of the Reform party – currently with now more than 200,000 members – many of whom highly esteem Reform’s uncompromising views on immigration.

But many believe it is too little, and far too late, for the government’s actions to have any reversing effect on the UK’s migration crisis.

Personal response

Meanwhile, on an individual level, we should always be ready to treat any migrant, illegal or not, with the respect and dignity that our faith demands – offering care and help where it is needed when we can.

We should also pray for our government in their belated efforts to control immigration – for fairness for all, both citizens and migrants.

Endnote
1 For a thorough discussion of these, see Tim Dieppe, ‘The Challenge of Islam’, Wilberforce Publications, 2024.