A number of Friday’s papers lead with new figures showing that net migration to the UK stood at 606,000 and hit a record high in 2022. The Daily Mirror describes the situation as “immigration chaos” and says that MPs have accused the government of creating a “climate of intolerance amid utter incompetence”.
The figures mean Britain is set to overtake France to become Europe’s second-most populace country for the first time ever, according to the i. The paper quotes one economist saying issues like housing shortages mean a “rising population is a problem”, but adding that it is “not as big a problem as a falling population”.
The Daily Express carries a pledge from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed directly to its readers. “We must and will cut the number of people moving to the UK,” it reads.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick has criticised universities for the number of places being offered to foreign students, according to the Metro. The paper reports that almost 40% of non-EU nationals who arrived in the UK last year were students. Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday, Mr Jenrick said it “isn’t right that universities in some cases are in the immigration business rather than the teaching and education one”.
The Guardian reports that leaked documents show the government has drawn up plans to deport more than 3,000 asylum seekers every month from January under the provisions of the Illegal Migration Bill, which is currently making its way through parliament. The paper calls the document the “first detailed glimpse of the scale of the task facing Whitehall if it is to implement” the bill.
Figures published this week showing inflation remains high have thrown bond markets “into chaos” and pushed Britain’s borrowing costs to the highest in the G7 for the first time since the 2007 crash, according to the Daily Telegraph. The paper says Nationwide, Lloyds, Virgin Money and Halifax all increased their mortgage rates in response, and quotes the chief investment officer of Legal & General – the country’s largest asset manager – saying the company is not currently making long-term investments in the UK debt market because of a “lack of a clearer [economic] narrative”.
The Financial Times says ministers are considering a “sweeping reform” to the government-backed Pension Protection Fund – a £39bn pot that provides a safety net for pension schemes when an employer fails – that would turn it into a vehicle for tens of billions of pounds worth of investment in UK businesses. The paper says that, under the plans, the fund’s remit would be widened to allow it to take on struggling pension plans that have not yet failed, and that the additional funds could be invested in start-ups and fast-growing businesses.
GPs are to be offered financial incentives to recruit patients for medical trials as part of a £650m package intended to lure pharmaceutical giants to Britain, according to the Times. The paper says it comes after a fall in clinical testing as the NHS struggles with Covid backlogs, and that the country’s £94bn life sciences industry is seen by the government as an “engine for growth in a sluggish economy”.
The Mail carries pictures of two protests carried out on Thursday. At the Chelsea Flower Show, environmental protesters from campaign group Just Stop Oil threw orange powder over one of the gardens, while on the King’s Sandringham estate a group of animal rights activists took three lambs. The paper’s headline asks, “Will anyone stop these eco-clowns?”, while veteran Tory MP Peter Bone is quoted saying parliament may have to bring in stronger punishments to discourage such protests.
Image source, BBC Sport
And the Star says that “swarms of giant jellyfish are heading our way” because of rising ocean temperatures, adding that the news comes “just in time to ruin the half-term hols”.
