Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has proposed a “net zero” policy on immigration with “one in, one out” – as MPs debated a total halt to new arrivals. Pleas for every type of immigration to be paused were considered in the House of Commons after 220,000 people signed a petition.

Mr Tice said: “We are not short of people and there is an anxiety by those who signed this petition that the population growth is too great … and there is a need for a pause.”

The petition that prompted the debate said: “Close the borders! Suspend ALL immigration for five years! We believe our country is facing serious challenges both from legal and illegal migration, and think the only way to deal with this is to suspend all immigration temporarily for five years.”

Under House of Commons rules, a petition can be debated if it gains more than 100,000 signatures, although this does not guarantee that any MPs will support it.

Conservative Sir John Hayes said the population was set to grow to 72.5million by 2032 and that it was impossible to build new infrastructure quickly enough to cope with the massive increase in numbers.

He said: “No country could cope with that sort of population growth without very serious consequences for public services.

“This has been a failure by the whole of the political establishment,” including Conservative governments, he said.

More than 4,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats to arrive in the UK so far this year, according to latest figures.

But this is far outstripped by legal immigration figures. Last year, an estimated 1.2million people migrated to the UK and 479,000 emigrated from it, leaving net migration of 728,000 – more than the population of Manchester.

Net migration was estimated to have reached 906,000 in the year ending June 2023.

Recent years have seen a much higher number of people arriving for humanitarian reasons than in the past, notably via the Ukraine and Afghan resettlement schemes, as well as British National Overseas status holders from Hong Kong.

An analysis by the Office for Budget Responsibility found high levels of migration helped the economy to grow and led to higher GDP, but the impact on GDP per person was less clear.

A report by the Centre for Policy Studies found large-scale migration has not delivered significant growth in GDP per capita and has increased the strain on the nation’s infrastructure – from roads and GP surgeries to housing

Pressure has been added to rental markets, as well as affecting home ownership. For example, 67% of privately rented households in London are headed by someone born overseas, as were 33% of new social housing lets in Brent in 2022-23, the think tank found.