Long-term net migration to Britain has hit a record high, underscoring the challenge Prime Minister David Cameron faces to dispel voter fears that immigrants are straining public services such as housing, hospitals and schools.
As an island nation off northwest Europe, Britain is far from the front line of the EU-wide crisis in which hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees have poured into the bloc this year via countries like Italy, Greece and Hungary.
The bigger problem for Cameron is his inability to limit immigration by European Union passport holders, as freedom of movement is enshrined in the EU's founding treaties. Arrivals from countries like India and China are also on the rise.