Post-Brexit migration policy must leave Britain open to the world

Britain’s post-Brexit immigration system is slowly but surely beginning to take shape. Boris Johnson has promised that Britain will be open to the world’s “most talented” minds after Brexit as he unveiled a new fast-track visa scheme for scientists, mathematicians and researchers. It will replace the existing Tier 1 “Exceptional Talent” visa and there will also be no cap on the number of people able to come to the UK under it.

Today, the Government’s migration advisory committee recommended that the salary threshold for skilled migrants entering the UK after Brexit should be reduced by £4,400 to £25,600. Under the committee’s proposals skilled migrants would still be required to have a job offer but there would be flexibility with higher-paid professions having higher thresholds. Teachers, skilled NHS workers and new entrants would continue to benefit from lower thresholds.

Advisers recommend a more open system for highly skilled migrants with exceptional talents, saying the current cap on visas of 2,000 is too restrictive. They will not require a job offer under the proposals, but would be drawn through an “expression of interest” having registered their desire to come to the UK with a monthly invitation drawn from a pool of applicants, subject to a cap that has not yet been defined.

The MAC said that it expects the changes to “reduce the levels of immigration, the size of the UK population and total GDP.” Adding: “We expect the changes to very slightly increase GDP per capita, productivity and improve the public finances, though these estimates are more uncertain.

“The changes are also expected to reduce pressures in the NHS, schools and on social housing, though they will increase pressure on social care, raise the dependency ratio and have larger impacts on some sectors and areas than others.”

There is evidence from multiple sources that show British public opinion on immigration softening since the vote to leave the EU. This correlates directly with a sense that Britain is taking back control of immigration and the notion of a “Australian style immigration system” has a kind of brand recognition with the public which stands for control and democratic accountability.

The public generally understands the economic and social benefits of immigration but wants that sense of control and a reduction in unskilled migration will go some way to satisfying this desire. This provides an opportunity to change public attitudes and move away from the often negative and ugly debate on immigration which has progressively intensified over the last two decades. If we are to make a success of Brexit, this is essential.

There has been a sort of cognitive dissonance when it comes to Brexit and immigration. On the one hand there is a vision of “global Britain” that becomes open to the world and a champion of free trade, but on the other there has been a lamentable trend of anti-immigration rhetoric and nationalist sentiment. This must change because if we are to open for trade. We must be open to people too. They go hand in hand, and this is not widely enough understood.

For example, I have often been asked why we should have a preferential migration policy towards the European Union. Aside from the fact of geographical closeness and the desire of the British public to travel to Europe, the reason we have a more liberal migration policy with the EU is because of the depth of the trade relationship.

Free movement is a response to market forces. In a market where goods move freely, and you can sell services anywhere freely, then the movement of people, investment, capital and providers of professional services must also be free. We are about to end free movement, but if we want a preferential trading arrangement with the EU, we should consider a preferential migration regime with our most important trading partner.

Britain cannot be a global hub of free trade if it creates immigration rules that hinder trade. The rhetoric must also change. We’ve had Theresa May’s nativist declaration that “if you believe you’re a citizen of the world, you’re a citizen of nowhere” and the Tories used anti-immigration rhetoric to appeal to Brexit Party supporters in the election. Hostility to foreigners and immigration doesn’t sit well with telling the world you are open to business.

In our globalised world, international flows of goods, services, capital and people are intertwined and with every trade deal we seek to make this will become ever clearer. The Australian government already made it clear that a future trade deal will require us to make it easier for Australians to move here. Similarly, India made it clear to Theresa May that they expected more business visas and less strict visa requirements for students if trade negotiations are going to go anywhere.

Trade and immigration go hand in hand. If a British business outsources work to India and if the Indian workers perform a job in Delhi, it’s called trade. If they come to London to perform the same work, it’s called migration. Even though it’s the same work.

As the government aims to reduce low skill immigration it has to remember that some forms of trade are only possible when people move because the services must be delivered locally. The elderly cannot be cared for from far away. Hotel rooms cannot be cleaned from abroad. Food cannot be served from a different continent. Neither can builders thousands of miles away construct a building in Birmingham. If we want to import construction services, we need to allow in foreign builders. An American bank that establishes itself in the City has to bring over American bankers.

As we end free movement and create a new system, we will increasingly realise how complex it is and how many compromises we need to make. We can reduce immigration but there must be no arbitrary targets and reduction shouldn’t be prioritised over prosperity and maximising the benefits of free trade.

On top of all that, we have to remember that there is more to migration than economics. Migrants aren’t just workers nor numbers in a column. They are people. Our fellow human beings. They come here, they become attached to our great country, they make friends, they fall in love and they have families. The bring immeasurable social and cultural benefits and this should never be forgotten. They bring fresh ideas, they evolve and enhance British cuisine, they become our sportsman and our artists. They become part of us. These are the most important reasons of all to be open to immigration.