Debunking the claim that migrants will get half of new homes

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 Sustainability Editor at Inside Housing

Kathy Rastle - Professor of Cognitive Psychology at the University of London

Duncan Weldon - Economist and author of Blood and Treasure

Rob Eastaway - mathematician and author of Maths on the Back of an Envelope

Presenter: Tim Harford

Series Producer: Tom Colls

Reporter: Nathan Gower

Producers: Josh McMinn, Lizzy McNeill

Editor: Richard Vadon

Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown

Sound Engineer: James Beard