There are fears the Conservatives might pledge to scrap the UK’s graduate visa route in their election manifesto, putting pressure on Labour, if a review of the route does not first lead to its abolition.
After first indicating in December that the route would be reviewed by the government’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) within a wider “plan to cut net migration”, home secretary James Cleverly finally set out the terms of reference for a “rapid review” earlier this month, asking the committee to report by 14 May.
That drew an unusually strong response from the MAC chair, Brian Bell, professor of economics at King’s College London, who warned Mr Cleverly that the timescale was “much shorter than a normal commission” and would “substantially limit the quality and quantity of evidence” the report can provide.
The timing of Mr Cleverly’s 14 May deadline for the MAC has raised suspicions for some, given that just nine days later the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is expected to publish net migration figures for 2023 that are likely to deliver bad news for a government seeking to reduce net migration.
