New Figures
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2738
By News Team ⋅
Birmingham saw a net fall in its British origin population of 61,000 over the past ten years and some analysts predict that next year the city, which has a large Asian community, will be the first in the UK that no longer has a majority white population.
This figure emerged from a report compiled from official sources by the Halifax, also point to a change to the ethnic mix of major urban centres, where minority communities make up a growing proportion of the population.
The report says that as many as 4.5 million people have fled London and the South East in the past ten years in search of a better quality of life and an escape from crowds, crime and grime. Many were families who used the profit they made on their houses to move to the coast or the country.The leavers were replaced by a larger number of migrants from other parts of the UK and overseas, mainly young single people chasing work, giving the region a net population gain of 384,000.
The figures show 2.4 million people left London between 1996 and 2006. A further 2.1 million moved out of the South East. While the capital has long been a magnet for young people from other parts of the UK, in recent years these incomers have failed to make up for the exodus of Londoners. As a result, London’s “British” population fell by 608,000, which was the greatest net loss seen in any part of the country.
However the loss was more than offset by the arrival of a million people in the capital from overseas over the past decade. London’s total population has increased by 538,000 since 1996, which was the biggest increase seen by any part of the country.
Coastal areas overall have seen the biggest increases in net internal migration. The South West saw a net increase of 441,000 in the population since 1996, far more than any other part of the country.
Halifax chief economist, Martin Ellis, said: “Sixteen of the 20 local authorities with the highest levels of net internal migration since 1997 are coastal areas. People are moving in large numbers to enjoy the benefits of living near the sea.” What he means to say is that the phenomena of White Flight is now well established.
In rural Britain, the East Riding of Yorkshire recorded the biggest net gain from internal migration. Some 112,000 arrived compared with the 87,000 who left – a net increase of 25,300.
Only the cities of the North East of England, including Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, saw an overall population decline between 1996 and 2006.
The figure fell by 20,000 as young people moved away in search of work and a new life.