Call for pledges to keep population under 70m

A CROSS-PARTY parliamentary group has called on all the major parties to make a commitment in their manifestos for the general election not to allow the UK's population to reach 70 million.

Yesterday, the Cross-Party Group on Balanced Migration said that political commitment to reduce net immigration to the levels of the early 1990s – about 40,000, compared to 163,000 in 2008 – was the first step towards avoiding reaching the 70m figure by 2029.

The group's Declaration on Population, entitled 70 million is too many, was signed by 20 parliamentarians, including former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, former Commons Speaker Baroness Boothroyd, five Labour MPs and peers, 11 Conservatives and two cross-benchers.

The declaration warned that the current scale of immigration is "unprecedented" and said that failure to stem it "would be seriously damaging to the future harmony of our society".

It accused the major parties of failing to address intense public concern over the issue, and warned that their silence has provided an opportunity for the far-right British National Party.