Migration moving in the right direction At the moment, the people who arrive in Britain every year with the aim of settling outnumber those who leave by about 200,000. The resultant increase in population is rapid and large: every five years, a million additional people have to be housed and provided with health care. Tens of thousands of extra children, many of whom speak no English, have to be educated. It means a great deal of added stress on the existing infrastructure, particularly in the South East. Before the election, David Cameron promised to bring net migration down by a half, to around 100,000 souls a year. While the Government has made it harder for foreigners to study here, and to stay once their courses are completed, the figures suggest Mr Cameron has no chance of keeping his promise. But to his credit, he is trying. As we report today, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, plans to change the law to make it harder for new immigrants to bring in members of their families. At present, immigrants need to be able to show that they will have a minimum income in Britain of £13,700 to be given permission to bring in a spouse, partner or dependant. Under the new proposals, that sum will increase to £25,700. Anyone hoping to bring in three or more children would have to demonstrate that they have a minimum income of £62,600. She also hopes to reintroduce some form of investigation that would allow the authorities to distinguish sham marriages from genuine ones - although that proposal may well fall foul of the judges, who ruled that previous attempts to investigate the basis of a marriage were "discriminatory" and so illegal. These proposals are a step in the right direction. They will not reduce immigration by half, but they ought significantly to diminish it. They are certain to be opposed by the Liberal Democrats. We hope that on this occasion the Conservatives will stand their ground.