Chiara Manzoni

Britain’s bid to attract the ‘brightest and the best’ after Brexit could backfire

In the week after the UK formally left the European Union, we are still no closer to understanding how the British government will meet the Prime Minister’s goal of attracting “the brightest and the best” to these shores.

Ensuring a continued flow of workers from anywhere in the world, as part of the new immigration system following the end of free movement of people to and from EU nations, will be vital for meeting any target for stronger economic growth.

Skills and talent have long dominated the migration debate, reinforced by various slogans of controlling migration.

During the election campaign, the Conservatives indicated they would follow an Australian-style point based system to attract the ‘brightest and the best’. Reducing the inflow of the so called “low skilled” workers has probably been the main focus of policies to stem EU labour migration. But how the actual system will work and will differ from what we currently have is not yet known.

A week ago, the Home Office unveiled a new “Global Talent” route

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