Asha Bhosle remembers sister Lata Mangeshkar

The immigration white paper has been delayed to after the May local elections. The delay is sensible, as US president Donald Trump’s tariff games make economic conditions less predictable than ever, but necessary too. UK government ministers know how they want to talk about immigration – that control matters – but are torn about what policies that leads to.

There are real dilemmas of control. Downing Street and the Home Office want overall numbers to come down, but chafe at the Treasury constraint of making the fiscal numbers still add up. Health secretary Wes Streeting wants to invest more in NHS training, but not to turn away doctors and nurses who could reduce waiting lists in the meantime. With university finances more fragile than ever, education secretary Bridget Phillipson does not want to push half a dozen local universities over the brink to deliver a statistic on immigration.

The immigration white paper has been delayed to after the May local elections. The delay is sensible, as US president Donald Trump’s tariff games make economic conditions less predictable than ever, but necessary too. UK government ministers know how they want to talk about immigration – that control matters – but are torn about what policies that leads to.

There are real dilemmas of control. Downing Street and the Home Office want overall numbers to come down, but chafe at the Treasury constraint of making the fiscal numbers still add up. Health secretary Wes Streeting wants to invest more in NHS training, but not to turn away doctors and nurses who could reduce waiting lists in the meantime. With university finances more fragile than ever, education secretary Bridget Phillipson does not want to push half a dozen local universities over the brink to deliver a statistic on immigration.