Last year net migration to the UK reached a record 504,000. On Thursday official figures are expected to confirm a new high of at least 700,000, widening Cabinet divisions over immigration while provoking debate on how best the UK props up the NHS alongside a stuttering post-Brexit economy.
Driven largely by people arriving from outside the EU, the contemporary story of migration to the UK is partly explained through the influx of Ukrainians and Hong Kongers fleeing war and repression. Elsewhere, the rise is explained by a surge in international students and skilled workers, largely health and care workers.
