General election 2015: EU migration swells UK population 565,000 since 2011

European Union migrants have helped swell the England's population by 565,000 since 2011, a University of Oxford study predicts.

The study suggests populations in every English local authority has risen as the economic recovery gathered pace.

There are now 8m foreign-born people living in England with EU migrants make up two thirds of the new arrivals, the Migration Observatory said.

Immigration is a major talking point ahead of May's general election with parties trying to prove they are best placed to limit migration into the country.

The study, which is based on labour force figures, provides a more up-to-date analysis on the impact of immigration on population since the 2011 Census and shows the biggest boom was in London, where 3.2m foreign-born people now live.

According to the research, the North East, the region with the lowest population of foreigners, has 155,220 living there.

The South East is projected to have also risen to more than 1.1 million.

Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford, said: "This data shows how different local experiences of migration have been across the UK.

"There are large variations in the size of migrant populations, as well as the share that come from EU countries.

"We have undertaken this analysis to provide a resource for anyone looking to understand local demographics of migration in the run-up to the general election."

David Cameron was dealt a blow last week when his pre-election pledge in 2010 to limit net migration to below 100,000 appeared in tatters.

Office of National Statistics figures showed that in the year to September 2014, 624,000 people migrated to the UK, with 327,000 leaving - a net increase of almost 300,000.