Brexit will cause 'vanishingly small' fall in net migration – report

Reduction was a core wish of leave voters, but overall figure will probably fall by less than 15%, thinktank predicts

Theresa May's attempt to reclaim control of UK borders after Brexit could reduce annual migration from the EU by just 50,000 - one-sixth of the current overall annual figure, according to new research.

The projection of a "vanishingly small reduction" is one of the first attempts to estimate how likely labour market demand, and the government's planned new controls, could reduce the number of migrants coming to the UK. Reduction in immigrant numbers has been repeatedly cited in polls as the chief reason voters backed leaving the European Union.

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