Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure as the Tories go to war over record immigration levels.

Estimates published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that net migration hit 745,000 in the year to December 2022 - the highest number on record. It's awkward for the Government as the Conservatives pledged to bring it down to the "tens of thousands" in their 2010, 2015 and 2017 election manifestos. In 2019, the party committed to making sure "overall numbers come down". At the time, net migration stood at 226,000.

Right-wingers are demanding draconian measures to bring the number down, including scrapping fast-track visas for health and social care workers. But critics say this would be disastrous, with overseas workers propping up a "crumbling" care sector.

Net migration is the difference between the numbers of people legally coming in the UK to work or study and those leaving it. It is separate to illegal migration, which has been the subject of intense rows due to the surge in arrivals in small boats.

In the 12 months to June, net migration stood at 672,000, with 1.2million people arriving and 508,000 leaving, statisticians found. This suggests that migration is slowing down, but Mr Sunak is feeling the heat. ONS data shows the overwhelming majority of people who migrated to the UK did so for work or study.

Here we look at some of the detail in the ONS figures.

How does the 2022 figure compare to previous years?

Following a drop in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, net migration has risen sharply in the past two years. Back in 2015, the year before the Brexit vote, it was 303,0000 - 40% of the current figure.

Here are the overall numbers since 2015, according to ONS:

  • 2015 - 303,000
  • 2016 - 249,000
  • 2017 - 208,000
  • 2018 - 276,000
  • 2019 - 184,000
  • 2020 - 93,000
  • 2021 - 466,000
  • 2022 - 745,000

Why do people come to the UK?

Students and workers accounted for the majority of immigration recorded by the Home Office. The latest figures, covering the 12 months to June, reveal that 322,000 came to the UK for work, while 378,000 arrived to study.

Migration from outside the EU has largely been fuelled by migrants coming for work, which ONS has largely attributed to those coming on health and care visas. In the 12 months to September this year 143,990 health and care worker visas were granted - more than double the 61,274 issued the the previous year.

Here is a breakdown of the reasons for migrating to the UK:

  • Work -322,000
  • Study -378,000
  • Family -70,000
  • Humanitarian routes - 83,000
  • Asylum - 90,000

Where are people migrating to the UK from?

The ONS figures provide a breakdown of EU and non-EU migrants, as well as British nationals who have been living abroad.

  • Non-EU - 1,030,000 (up from 611,000 in 2021)
  • EU - 116,000 (down from 172,000 in 2021)
  • British nationals - 88,000 (down from 108,000 in 2021)

Of non-EU countries in the year to June, the top five nations are:

  • India - 253,000
  • Nigeria - 141,000
  • China - 89,000
  • Pakistan - 55,000
  • Ukraine - 35,000

How many people moved out of the UK?

In the year to June, an estimated 508,000 emigrated from the UK to live abroad - 37,000 higher than the previous year. Of these EU nationals were the largest group, accounting for 42% of emigrants.

The number leaving the UK for the long term were:

  • Non-EU nationals - 200,000
  • EU nationals - 215,000
  • British nationals - 93,000

What have Tory backbenchers said?

Ex-Home Secretary Suella Braverman ramped up pressure on the PM, saying the numbers are a "slap in the face" to the public. She said: "We were elected on a pledge to reduce net migration, which was 229k in 2019. Today's record numbers are a slap in the face to the British public who have voted to control and reduce migration at every opportunity."

And the right-wing New Conservatives group, led by MPs Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger, demanded the PM immediately publish an emergency plan on how he plans to curb the numbers. In a statement, they said: “The word ‘existential’ has been used a lot in recent days but this really is ‘do or die’ for our party. Each of us made a promise to the electorate. We don’t believe that such promises can be ignored."

What has Labour said?

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the figures expose the "scale of utter Tory failure" on immigration, asylum, and the economy.

She said: “These figures are driven by a 54% increase in work visas and a 156% increase in health and social care visas which prove the Conservatives’ abysmal record on skills, training and workforce planning, as they have run our economy into the ground.

"They are still failing to make changes Labour has called for to end the 20 per cent wage discount in the immigration system and to link it to training requirements."

How about Rishi Sunak?

Mr Sunak knows this is going to be tricky for him to navigate. He said: "I'm very clear that the levels of net migration are too high.

"They need to come down to more sustainable levels. It is encouraging that the Office for National Statistics last week said the numbers are slowing but we need to do more.

"I have already taken action to tighten the number of dependants that students can bring when they come to study here."

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