Nigel Farage blasted Labour for “continuing the Boris-wave” and making Brits “poorer” by failing to cut migrant numbers.
Some 1,235,254 people moved to the UK in the 12 months to June 2024 while 496,536 emigrated.
This accounted for 98% of the UK’s overall increase in population across this period.
The ONS revealed the population grew by 755,254 in the year to June 2024, the second-highest year on record. The previous record was set a year before – 890,049.
This brings the UK population to 69.3 million, up by 1.1% on last year.
But fears are intensifying Labour is not doing enough to slash the number of arrivals.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “The Labour government are continuing the Boriswave and our lives are all getting poorer because of it.
“Only Reform will control our borders.”
Reform’s Lee Anderson added: “Labour has made no serious attempt to stop the ongoing invasion of our shores.
“The influx of unvetted, fighting-age men is placing enormous strain on public services, deepening the housing crisis, and driving crime through the roof.”
“Only Reform will leave the ECHR, deport those who have no right to be here, and make the migrant crisis a thing of the past.”
Nigel Henretty of the ONS said: “The UK population has increased each year since mid-1982.
“The rate of population increase has been higher in recent years, and the rise seen in the year to mid-2024 represents the second largest annual increase in numerical terms in over 75 years.
“Net international migration continues to be the main driver of this growth, continuing the long-term trend seen since the turn of the century.”
The alarming figures come as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer admitted Labour had been “squeamish” about tackling immigration.
He said: “The belief that uncontrolled legal migration was nothing but good news for an economy should never have been accepted on the Left. It is not compassionate Left-wing politics to rely on labour that exploits foreign workers and undercuts fair wages.
“The huge increase in immigration that happened under the Conservatives was based on a hyper-liberal free market viewpoint. Labour is clear that there must be no return to that. Having established that clarity, Labour is freer than the Conservatives to call out the toxic division that is being promulgated by the populist Right.
“Britain faces a choice between decency and division, between renewal and decline. This is the defining political choice of our times, and we must be unafraid of challenging a politics of grievance, preying on the problems of working people.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Keir Starmer has lost control of our borders.
“Immigration at this level is a disgrace and must end.
“It is stressing housing and public services, is breaking social cohesion and is actually bad for the economy.
“The first eight months of this year were the worst in history for illegal immigrants crossing the channel.
“And Starmer continues to allow legal migration at unacceptably high levels having cancelled our plans to raise the family visa threshold to £38,000.
“We urgently need a hard annual cap on legal migration at very low levels, and we must deport every illegal immigrant immediately upon arrival.”
The ONS has previously predicted the population will surge to 72.5 million – up from 67.6 million – by 2032, heaping more pressure on the NHS, housing, roads and schools.
Almost ten million people are expected to move to the UK between 2022 and 2032, with five million anticipated to leave over the same period.
The Reform leader said “mass, unskilled migration” during the Boris Johnson era has suppressed earnings for millions of people.
Unveiling his plans to reverse record numbers of arrivals and avoid a “fiscal disaster”, Mr Farage promised to abolish indefinite leave to remain and ban foreign nationals from claiming any form of welfare.
And those with settlement rights would have them rescinded, under Mr Farage’s plan if he wins the next election.
Estimates have suggested this could cost taxpayers around £200bn.
Research by the Centre for Policy Studies revealed over two million visas were issued to migrants between January 2021 and June 2024.
This has led to warnings that as many as 800,000 could apply for indefinite leave to remain – and get access to benefits, the NHS and social homes – after they have lived in the UK for five years.
The first of this cohort – dubbed the Boris Wave – could apply for indefinite leave to remain from January.
A staggering 211,090 migrants given indefinite leave to remain received Universal Credit in August, up from 153,648 a year ago, new figures showed.
It also represents a 120% increase from the 95,612 in April 2022.
Another 770,379 European migrants are claiming Universal Credit, up from 644,847 in April 2022, after being allowed to stay under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Net migration hit a staggering 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
