The Tories' barmiest policy| The Economist
This week's Economist focusses on the Tories' disastrous determination to cap immigration. Faced with the pressure of meeting a target of a net migration (immigration minus emigration) of 100,000, the Conservatives have decided to squeeze immigration from skilled workers and students, the only ones not protected under human rights laws. Yet doing so will ultimately cripple the British economy.
For starters, skilled workers from Central and Eastern Europe tend to give more than they take; their efficiency at work far outweigh the meagre levels of benefits they claim whilst in the UK. As for students, they are statistically more productive than the average worker, and an overseas student able to enter one of Britain's top academic institutions is unlikely to end up a burden to the country.
Even though the Tories assume they are adopting a popular policy, the British public ironically view these two groups as 'desirable', as opposed to the unskilled and asylum seekers, even more so than the Europeans do. By forcing out the talented away from the country, the Tories are holding a 'Keep Out' sign to not only a productive group of workers, but also multinational corporations who wish to set up and expand in Britain, since Home Secretary Theresa May has made obtaining work visas for overseas employees extremely difficult. Britain is now removing the competitive advantage of its global popularity, yet still having a naive optimism for growth; as the article concludes, Britain is now trying to compete on the world stage 'with its shoelaces tied together'.
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