Debunking the claim that migrants will get half of new homes
From More or Less by BBC Radio 4
June 3, 2026 · 29 min
About this episode
Tim Harford investigates misleading claims about migration and housing, explores Welsh education statistics, and discusses the UK's economic situation.
Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: The Daily Express claims that ‘Migrants will get half of all new homes’, based on a calculation from the Conservatives. We explain why that’s not what the numbers say, and ask what the Conservatives own record on migration and housing tells us. Does one in five Welsh pupils leave school functionally illiterate? We take a dive into the world of Welsh education and find the numbers tell a different story - but not an encouraging one. Accusations are flying about who’s responsible for the UK’s high borrowing costs. Does Liz Truss still cast a shadow over the bond market? Is Labour infighting to blame? Or are we missing the economic wood for the political trees? Duncan Weldon has the answers. And an answer to a question that literally only one person was asking: how many football pitches would fit inside Wales? More or Less is the programme that looks at numbers and statistics in news and in life. We’re always looking for questions from listeners - you can contact us on moreorless@bbc.co.uk. Guests: Ben Brindle - researcher at the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford James Riding - Living Markets and…
People in this episode
Host: Tim Harford
Guests: Ben Brindle, James Riding, Kathy Rastle, Duncan Weldon, Rob Eastaway
Topics covered
- migration
- housing
- education
- UK economy
- politics
- statistics
Keywords
- migrants
- new homes
- Welsh education
- UK borrowing costs
- Liz Truss
- football pitches
- statistics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, Inside Housing, University of London, BBC Radio 4
Places: Wales, UK
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