| Enjoy full access to our free-thinking journalism for less than 50p per week |  | Ben Butcher Data Editor | Immigration is falling quickly. Having reached a peak of almost one million in 2023, net migration has now plummeted to 204,000 in the latest annual figures. This decline is expected to continue as a growing number of “tough-on-immigration” policies kick in.
Politically, at least, this decline had to happen: the rise of Reform having sent shockwaves through the establishment. However, a sustained reversal will also highlight the follies of almost three decades of government policy. For years, mass migration has been the “sticking plaster” for dire recruitment and retention in the public sector – a tactic which started with Tony Blair and continued right up to the “Boriswave” a quarter of a century later. The result is a public sector hugely reliant on foreign labour – from doctors to teachers to HMRC call handlers – which now must either be wholly rethought in a low-immigration environment or face collapse.
To see just how dramatic this situation is, The Telegraph has carried out a sector-by-sector audit of state services and their reliance on immigrant workers, highlighting the severity of this crisis, and revealing just how difficult it will be to fix.
This essay is available to subscribers only.
Continue reading ➤ |  | Lauren Davidson Executive Money Editor | It’s April 1 next week, but this is no joking matter. The new month brings with it a cacophony of financial changes that only a fool would ignore.
First, the good news: the typical household’s energy bills will fall by seven per cent, or £117 a year, from Wednesday due to the reduction in the energy price cap. However, this drop is likely to be short-lived. Oil price shocks from the Iran war are predicted to push the cap from £1,641 to £1,801 in July. Shop around for a cheaper fixed-term deal and lock in before the summer.
Elsewhere, most costs are going up from April. Most council tax bills will rise by 4.9 per cent, which is £111 for an average Band D house. Use our calculator to see how much more you’ll pay. Also going up next week are water bills, car taxes, mobile phone and broadband prices and the cost of a TV licence.
Hot on the heels of price rise day comes the start of the new tax year on April 6, which will also leave most people lighter of pocket. Farms, family businesses and Aim-listed shares will incur more inheritance tax, dividend taxes will rise by two pence in the pound and the dreaded Making Tax Digital finally arrives for sole traders and landlords with more than £50,000 of income (find the best software to use here).
Fret not, for you still have time to act to protect your money. Don’t miss out on the essential tips in these guides.
Read our full April guide ➤
12 ways to maximise your tax-free allowances before April 6 ➤
Best cash Isas: Today’s latest rates ➤
The 25 best funds for your Isa – picked by our experts ➤ | | Matthew Lynn Declining invitations to Downing Street in the current climate is absolutely the correct decision Continue reading ➤ Charles Moore You can’t just Google a fix for the BBC crisis – it needs to find a proper editor Continue reading ➤ Lewis Page No, Mr President, the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers are not ‘toys’ Continue reading ➤ | | To make sure you don’t miss our newsletters when they land in your inbox, click here. | | Chinese troops march during a parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of the Second World War | | With every missile the US launches in Iran, concern is growing among its allies in Asia, writes Allegra Mendelson, our Asia Correspondent. What was a distant and confined conflict is now having repercussions on the Western security umbrella across the continent. It is a development that will be secretly welcomed in the halls of Beijing, experts told me.
For subscribers only ➤
Trump wants ‘pay to play’ Nato ➤ | |  | | Michael Grade said the corporation’s handling of its recent woes was ‘unforgivable’ | | As the only person to have headed up Channel 4, the BBC and ITV, you could argue Michael Grade is better placed than anyone to talk about how to run a public service broadcaster. The outgoing chairman of Ofcom tells Anita Singh that he’s not impressed by the BBC and how it has dealt with allegations of bias, and admits he feels no sympathy for Tim Davie, the chairman who was forced to resign. Continue reading ➤ | | | | | Were you devoted to your Walkman? Did you buy every issue of Smash Hits? Telegraph writers share their adolescent prized possessions | | Many of us have standout memories from our teenage years: a first kiss or heartbreak, a formative holiday or dreaded exams. Which singular item would you choose to represent your own adolescence? With the announcement of a new Museum of Youth Culture opening in London, Telegraph writers select the items they would submit, from Smash Hits magazine to film cameras. Continue reading ➤ | | | Icelander Ina Steinke told Julie Bindel that she feared free speech was under threat in her country | | Once a beacon of progress, Iceland has adopted an authoritarian approach to gender politics, writes Julie Bindel. Those who don’t agree that it’s safe for children to change sex are ostracised, or worse. I spoke to citizens who are terrified for the future, and fear the encroaching indoctrination. This is a cautionary tale for other countries, including our own. Continue reading ➤ | | | Britain’s brewing habits have become a surprisingly revealing marker of taste | | Britons now drink 98 million cups of coffee a day, turning our brewing habits into a ruthless marker of taste. From the instant coffee die-hards (80 per cent of us still buy it) to the V60 devotees reading Camus, and stovetop aficionados who like their morning brew tasting of “rocket fuel”, Tomé Morrissey-Swan decodes the tribal world of home caffeine. Continue reading ➤ | | - Eat (or don’t) | A versatile store cupboard staple, baked beans are nutritious and provide protein and fibre, but how healthy are they really? We spoke to the experts to find out.
- Play | The Telegraph has conducted an in-depth study of the class system, to generate an entirely new social order, defined by the British public themselves. Take our test to find out where you fit in.
- Walk | Our expert has chosen the most scenic South Downs walks, each starting and ending at a characterful country pub. Take in the spring air and try one this weekend.
- Discuss | England supporters felt crushed by the end of the 2025-26 Ashes series. We’re creating a readers’ manifesto, to right the wrongs of this debacle. How would you fix the Test team? Let us know here.
- Drink | If you’re trying to save the pennies, finding a decent bottle of wine for under £10 is devilishly difficult. Here are the best six to try.
| Spring shoots | Artichoke, broad bean and shallot salad with saffron dressing |  | Diana Henry The Telegraph’s award-winning cookery writer | Spring is in the air, which means I feel compelled to sort out the freezer. I’m not a very tidy person but this time of year means I can’t fight the urge to “sort things out”. It’s a blessing that this urge comes, as it’s rare. I couldn’t believe the number of broad beans in the freezer – packets half emptied, packets with a trickle in the bottom. They have to come out. Even when broad beans are in season I often use frozen because the amount of beans you have to remove from their fur-lined pods to make anything decent takes ages. One of my favourite uses for them is in a simple salad with artichokes, shallots, pine nuts and raisins. | Herbed tomato and onion galette | Many of us have a stash of frozen puff pastry and filo pastry “just in case” it’s needed. I don’t “need” to make this lovely tomato galette but you can’t keep pastry in the freezer for ever. This will make your kitchen feel like summer isn’t far away. The mascarpone layer under the tomatoes is what makes this brilliant. It’s more than a regular tomato tart. | Stir-fried prawns with sugar-snap peas, Thai basil, chilli and lime | I quite often stash a packet of king prawns in the freezer “for a treat”. Then I forget about them. The flavour will deteriorate the longer they are in there so it’s time to whip them out and actually cook a treat. This stir-fry with sugar-snap peas, chilli and lime is the loveliest and simplest dish. Use Thai basil if you can find it, but most vegetables that you can stir fry (green beans, peas, purple sprouting broccoli) will work here. As well as a freezer clear-out you can do a bit of a fridge raid.
Find me here every Saturday and in the new Recipes Newsletter, which you can sign up to here.
Happy cooking! | Andrew Baker’s Saturday Quiz |
Gather round for the latest instalment of my Saturday quiz. - Sir Joseph Bazalgette, who was born on this day in 1819, created in London a “wonder of the industrial world”. What was it?
- Which is the only one of the original “seven wonders of the world” cited in the sixteenth-century text Octo Mundi Miracula, to survive today?
- What kind of cat does Alice meet in Wonderland?
- What is the largest member of the cat family (Felidae)?
- Who was the first woman to take her seat as a member of parliament in 1919?
You can find the answers at the end of the newsletter. | | Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including PlusWord, Sorted, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was MITHERING. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. | | Thank you for reading. Have a fulfilling day and I hope to see you tomorrow. Chris Evans, Editor
P.S. Please send me your thoughts on this newsletter. You can email me here. | Quiz answers: - The sewage system
- The Great Pyramid of Giza
- Cheshire
- Tiger
- Nancy Astor
| |
%20(1).png)
.png )
.png){kind=icon}
.jpg)
%20(1).jpg )
%20(1).jpg)
%20(1)%20(1).jpg )
.jpeg)
.jpeg )
.jpg )
.jpg )
.jpg )
.jpg )
