UK economy is addicted to immigration but there are long-term treatments | Larry Elliott

Immigration fuels growth and much-needed workers but there are ways to wean UK plc off its dependency

Rishi Sunak can't catch a break. Barely was the ink dry on last week's autumn statement than the news came out of record migration figures. The previous week, a bigger than expected fall in inflation was followed within hours by the supreme court ruling against the government's plan to process asylum seekers in Rwanda.

No question, migration ranks alongside the record level of tax and the dismal state of the economy as one of the three big economic challenges facing the prime minister. The way the opinion polls are looking they will soon be problems Keir Starmer will inherit.