In a sector where “identity” is so important – we cast ourselves as imaginative scholars, free thinkers, and proud autonomous institutions – we should be courageous enough to ask ourselves challenging questions, not least how to engage more effectively with the migration debate.
Brexit demonstrated that identity is also core for many voters. Post Brexit and the pandemic, as cost-of-living issues have bitten, migration has been elevated, often by politicians, as a contributory factor compounding standard of living anxieties, particularly for those on low wages.
The political significance of this issue was most recently reinforced by the fact the PM’s first tweet of the year was about removing dependents for the majority of students, given the new rule that came in 1 Jan.
Legions of economists would rightly contest simplistic analyses of the impact of migration. But it is incontestable that the political saliency of migration is rising for Governments around the world.
