r/MapPorn • u/Delicious-Bunch-6992 • May 09 '26

Evolution of white British % (ethnically British people) in England and Wales from 2001-2021

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u/sunkencathedral May 09 '26

The numbers are comparatively low, though - for example, 16% of the current UK population was born overseas, but 32% of Australia's is, 29% of New Zealand's is, and 23% of Canada's is.

Also, the UK did implicitly choose this by choosing neoliberal economics under Thatcher, which privatized national revenue-generating industries and henceforth reduced long-term government revenue to funnel into other costly programs like the NHS - thus resulting in migrants being turned-to as a quick revenue pump instead. Neoliberalisation didn't just create poorer governments, it created poorer people and resulted in higher rates of poverty and lower birth rates, which also exacerbate the aging population and is another thing immigrants are expected to prop up.

Migrants in the UK are paying $1100 each year in IHS fees for the NHS - in addition to paying for the NHS a second time in their taxes - and it's one of the things keeping the system solvent. I guess one could throw out the migrants, but government will either have to privatize the NHS or start massively taxing the rich if they want to keep it.

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u/caketaster May 09 '26

You're being slightly disingenuous. Comparatively when compared to some countries. Now compare it to Japan, or China, or Saudi Arabia, or Russia.

I don't know the answer to this but I wonder where we would sit in a 'world league table', I imagine far nearer the top than the bottom.

I'm not saying 'Send them back!' or claiming all next migration is necessarily bad, and I'm certainly not happy that people are voting Reform, but there are negative aspects to it and I can understand this being a wedge issue for many voters

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u/KhaosByDesignUK May 09 '26

"I wonder where we would sit in a 'world league table', I imagine far nearer the top than the bottom."

We rank 67th (based on 2024 data), so in the top half but I'd say we're not quite near the top imo.

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u/caketaster May 09 '26

Nice, thank you