Brexit voting areas see faster relative growth in foreign workers, Guardian analysis finds
9 reported
A Guardian investigation has found that Leave-voting areas in the UK have experienced faster relative growth in foreign workers since the 2016 Brexit referendum. Data analysis of government Pay As You Earn records shows that between 2016 and the end of 2024, non-UK workers grew fastest in percentage terms in stronger Leave-voting areas, largely because they had previously made up a smaller share of the workforce. Across the country, the proportion of foreign workers increased by 40% over that period, while in Wigan, a strong Leave-voting area, the share of non-UK employees rose from less than 5% in June 2016 to just under 10% in December 2024. Remain-voting areas still have the largest numbers of non-UK workers in absolute terms. The Guardian also analyzed deprivation data, finding that the strongest Remain-voting seats in England experienced the largest improvements between 2015 and 2025, while Brexit-voting areas such as Boston and Skegness became relatively more deprived. Anand Menon, director of The UK in a Changing Europe, cautioned against attributing all changes to Brexit, noting the effects of Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, and manufacturing trends.
What’s reported
Leave-voting areas saw faster relative growth in foreign workers since the 2016 Brexit referendum, according to a Guardian investigation.
Between 2016 and the end of 2024, non-UK workers grew fastest in percentage terms in stronger Leave-voting areas.
Across the UK, the proportion of foreign workers increased by 40% over that period.
In Wigan, non-UK employees rose from less than 5% in June 2016 to just under 10% in December 2024.
Remain-voting areas still have the largest numbers of non-UK workers in absolute terms.
Migration peaked at 944,000 in the year ending March 2023, then fell as visas expired.
Strongest Remain-voting seats in England saw the largest improvements in deprivation between 2015 and 2025.
Brexit-voting areas such as Boston and Skegness, Hartlepool, and North Warwickshire and Bedworth became relatively more deprived over the same period.
The Guardian combined government deprivation data with constituency-level estimates of the 2016 referendum vote.
Misconceptions
The article states that the two trends (foreign worker growth and deprivation changes) should not be mistaken for cause and effect, and that wider research suggests immigration has had only very limited effects on wages and employment prospects of UK-born workers.
Key figures
Anand Menon, director of The UK in a Changing Europe and professor of west European politics at King’s College London.
Sources: The Guardian
