Amid tighter policies, Net migration to the UK falls by nearly 50 percent

Corroborated by 3 sources from 3 publishers

globalgeneral5/21/2026

TL;DR

Reports differ across sources; according to theguardian.com, net migration to the UK fell by nearly 50% to 171,000 last year, according to official figures released on Thursday, in what will be seen as a boost for Keir Starmer’s government.

Sources

1

Bloomberg Politics

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-21/net-migration-to-the-uk-drops-below-200-000-in-boost-for-starmer

5/21/2026

2

The Guardian (World)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/21/net-migration-uk-falls-labour-vow-cut-numbers

5/21/2026

3

Al Jazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/21/net-migration-to-the-uk-falls-by-nearly-50-percent-amid-tighter-policies?traffic_source=rss

5/21/2026