According to the statistics, 10 percent of England’s foreign-born population—equivalent to 932,208 people—speak little or no English. Of these, 794,332 people (8.6 percent) reported that they cannot speak English well, while 137,876 (1.4 percent) cannot speak it at all. In contrast, just over half of migrants aged 16 and older say English is their main language, and 38.4 percent believe they speak it well.
The findings have prompted Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp to criticize Labour's immigration policies. “It beggars belief that so many people in the country can’t speak English,” he said, calling on the government to "get a grip on immigration."
England’s population stood at 67.6 million in mid-2022 and is expected to rise to 72.5 million by mid-2032, according to separate figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Net migration is estimated to average just under 631,000 this year, down from the record-breaking 906,000 in recent years, according to the Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government has faced criticism over its handling of migration policies. No. 10 recently rejected claims that the administration has failed to stop people-smuggling operations across the Channel. A spokesperson for Starmer said there were “no quick fixes” to illegal immigration, arguing that Labour had inherited an asylum system in disarray from the previous Conservative government.
Labour has resisted Tory demands to impose a migration cap, calling it an “arbitrary” measure. The party also scrapped the plan to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda, a move that has drawn further scrutiny. The situation worsened this week when Rwanda demanded an additional £50 million from British taxpayers, despite the scheme's cancellation, per GB News.
Tensions between the UK and Rwanda escalated after Lord Collins, the UK’s minister for Africa, accused the Rwandan government of being linked to an Islamic State-affiliated attack on a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In response, Rwanda called the comments “inflammatory and irresponsible” and insisted on receiving the additional funds, claiming the UK was “legally bound” to pay them.
With migration levels remaining high and integration concerns growing, the debate over immigration policies is set to remain a major political issue in the UK.
