King’s Speech

Lord Green of Deddington Excerpts

Monday 18th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Green of Deddington (CB)]

My Lords, I will focus on immigration, as noble Lords would expect. I hope my voice will return—it has just disappeared.

It is increasingly clear that the sheer scale of immigration has now reached the point at which it is changing the whole nature of our country and, indeed, threatening serious social tensions. The riots nearly two years ago in Southport and elsewhere, as well as recent attacks on Jews, are an indication of the underlying tensions that already exist.

Looking back in time, the 20 years between 2001 and 2021 saw the proportion of “white British” in the UK fall from 87.5% to just under 75%. Furthermore, the non-white proportion of the population tripled from 6% in 1991 to 18.3% in 2021. As for the overall population of the UK, it increased by 8 million, of which nearly 7 million was due to immigrants and their children. We cannot confine our discussion of immigration to the detail; these basic, major facts must be widely understood and acted on.

The pressures I have just described are without precedent. UK net migration in the year to mid-2023 was close to 1 million in one year, which is nearly the population of the city of Birmingham. Those numbers have declined substantially in recent years, but, none the less, it is an indication of the extent to which, frankly, the previous Government lost control of the borders, and the present Government are struggling if they are really serious about it.

Meanwhile, the birth rate of the white British population has fallen sharply. The reasons for this are not clear, but if it stays very low and net migration remains high, it will bring forward the day when the white British become a minority in England and Wales. That might sound like an exaggeration, but it is actually based on some very conservative estimates of the numbers. Such rapid population growth, which the Home Office barely mentions, would have severe social and economic impacts, with serious implications for the future stability, cohesion and very nature of our society. Indeed, this is already happening as the pace picks up; meanwhile, we are importing division and conflict from countries where internecine strife is endemic.

It is very nearly 25 years since I cofounded Migration Watch with Professor David Coleman of Oxford University. That work is now chaired by Alp Mehmet and remains as vital as ever for the future of this country. I hope, therefore, that this House will soon engage on these massively important issues for our future.