UK migration could be negative this year – how will that hit the economy?

Universities, builders and health trusts are feeling the squeeze, as thinktank says effect of zero net migration could be similar to Brexit

• It's been life-changing': young Britons on why they left the UK

When Greenwich and Kent universities said this month they would merge to save money, the heart of their financial difficulties could be found in the UK government's crackdown on immigration.

Tough restrictions on foreign students have sent the number of university applications from abroad plummeting, cutting lucrative tuition fees and leaving all universities facing the same squeeze.