As reported by The Times, the boss of one of the world’s most influential investment firms has called for “consistency” in the government’s business strategy, pointing out that Britain has had six chancellors and four prime ministers since 2019.
On stage with Rishi Sunak at the government’s global investment summit at Hampton Court Palace recently, Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone, the private equity group, said: “Something that people in the government may not be as sensitive to is that people like us need consistency. We need to be able to trust what’s going to be happening.”
Businesses are not alone in calling for consistency. Universities also need clarity. Take the political discussion on immigration and recruitment of international students – universities across Europe are increasingly becoming collateral damage in this broader political discourse around immigration. With loud political voices advocating to restrict the entry of international students into their educational systems.
The UK government, for instance, grapples with a clear tension between its official aspirations to increase international student numbers and its commitment to reduce net migration. While the 2021 International Education Strategy aims to attract 600,000 international students yearly by 2030, the government recently announced new visa restrictions this year, purportedly to substantially reduce migration.
