David Cameron will enter the political minefield of immigration today with a call for measures to meet the challenge of rapid population growth.

In his first major speech on immigration and population, the Conservative leader will attack Gordon Brown for failing to tackle the root causes of Britain’s growing demographic problems, ensuring that it will become an issue for the next election.

In a speech to the Policy Exchange think-tank, Mr Cameron will call for a “grown-up conversation” about population growth. Britain’s population is set to rise by nine million over the next 20 years, because of higher life expectancy and higher net immigration, along with a big rise in the formation of new households as more and more people live alone.

Moving on to territory that Tory leaders have always regarded as sensitive, Mr Cameron will say that in an advanced economy emigration and immigration will always be high.

But the net figure is currently too high, he will say, “so we need policy to reduce the level of net immigration – and we also need policy to reduce the pressure of household formation”.

He will call for a “sober and forensic” understanding of the nature of the challenge, as well as action to ensure that the population grows sustainably, and action to prepare for that sustainable level of growth. “This will require a level of strategic thinking and joined-up policy-making that seems to be completely beyond this Government. We need to bring together policy on issues from housing to skills; planning to immigration control; the family to border control, into a coherent long-term population strategy.”

In the past 40 years, the population grew by about six million. But over the next 40 years it is expected to grow more than twice as fast.

Mr Cameron will say the country faces a choice. “Some people argue that the demographic changes I’ve talked about are just an inevitable part of the modern world and that policy-makers had better get used to it. This assumes that we can’t do much about family failure, we can’t get significant numbers of people off benefits and into work, and that we use immigration to deal with our capacity shortages.

“That is Gordon Brown’s choice. But I don’t think it’s sustainable - for a simple reason. The other promises he makes, whether on improving the NHS, the education system or housing provision, are quite simply overwhelmed by his failure to deal with the root causes of our demographic challenge.”

Mr Cameron will also promise a series of integrated policies over the coming months. “Most importantly, we will also make clear how our approach joins up and fits together into a coherent long-term strategy.”

Times Recommends

• 6 reasons not to give gifts this Christmas
• Remembrance Day: All the lonely heroes