Britain's demographic paradox after Brexit

Britain's demographic paradox: more immigration after Brexit
It has been almost a year since the United Kingdom completed its exit from the EU, and the data available at that point already pointed to a paradox: the anti-immigration rhetoric that mobilised the Brexit vote did not translate into fewer arrivals from abroad. On the contrary, the figures showed an acceleration.

From New Labour to Brexit: two sides of the same coin
Britain's demographic transformation did not begin with the 2016 referendum, but with Tony Blair's New Labour in the 1990s. The "Third Way" combined economic neoliberalism and multiculturalism, opening the doors to mass immigration for both economic and ideological reasons. Brexit was sold as the solution to that policy, but the result was paradoxical.

The immigrant vote against immigrants
One of the least told aspects of Brexit is the role of communities of Indian and Pakistani origin, which voted mostly in favour of leaving. Their motivation was not to curb global immigration, but to push their European competitors out of the labour market. The targeted marketing campaign on Facebook, orchestrated by the British elite, knew how to exploit these divisions.

A ship sinking faster
The net result is that the United Kingdom today is more diverse, poorer and more dependent on foreign investment than before Brexit. Demographics do not lie: the immigration rate soared right after the exit. Meanwhile, public debate remains trapped between imperial pride and political correctness, without addressing the underlying contradictions.

The question nobody fully answers is whether Brexit was a manoeuvre by the City to dodge European regulations, or a genuine popular movement. Probably both, in a combination that left the country in no man's land.