Yes and half of this figure is from non EU countries. These are the people we could stop coming in already, but don't, so I don't really think Brexit is going to change net migration at all. There will just be more people who we could have turned away but didn't.Watching the BBC news and the main headline is Net Migration to the UK has risen to the second highest level on record, this will play into the hands of the Brexit campaign no doubt.
I was once of the opinion that migrants took jobs from Brits who needed them. My view has now changed. Migrants work hard and pay taxes and NI here which goes to help pay for the benefits of Brits who don't want to or can't work for whatever reason.
If we leave I think there will be negative repercussions on us from the rest of the EU. I really don't want to go there. The French were bad enough when they had to be told they could no longer boycott British beef because of the BSE scare.
One of the main reasons some want to leave is that Brussels imposes silly rules on all of us and we don't like being told what to do. So why don't we do what the other EU countries do...ignore the silly rules? Oh no, we have to follow them to the letter and then whinge about it.
Stay in or leave? I really don't know what's best, but have decided (probably) to vote to stay in for 2 reasons.
1. By being part of the EU we improve it. Geographically we are European and what the EU decide will affect us like it or not, so better to stay in and improve the quality of the EU by us being still there. This view was voiced to me by my local Green candidate the day before the recent local elections. He was referring mainly to green issues where the UK has influenced the EU positively but I can see it applying to other areas too.
2. Better the devil you know. I think the cost of leaving has been grossly underestimated. I have taken everything every politician and economist has said with a big pinch of salt. Only one economist has impressed me at all and his view was that we would be a lot worse off for years after Brexit.