Even those in the top 5 per cent of earners (£90,500 and over) are much closer to the national median personal income of £36,663 than to the top 1 per cent (£201,000 and above, where wealth also accumulates much more rapidly):
Madeleine Sumption (MAC) highlighted something that is largely missing from the UK media + political debate.
The most likely reason why claims are going down in Europe & going up in the UK is that asylum seekers can't now make a second claim in another EU country - but the UK is outside that
That approach would ensure that universities can actually manage risk and prevented the need for the changes we've seen announced.
Proactive policy would be far more impactful than the 'tough' rhetoric we've seen today.
A simple solution would be for the HO to share aggregate data on student asylum claims on a quarterly basis, and to notify any university as soon as the number of claims at their institution reached above a certain threshold (<50).
This is something @uukintl.bsky.social have regularly suggested.
There's no doubt many good reasosns for this, but the point is the system isn't that joined up.
Crucially, today the Home Sec said that many of those doing so were "making claims at the end of their studies."
See here, 55mins in: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yFL...
Students who claim asylum can normally continue studying while their case is considered & universities are not routinely told by the HO about claims made by their students.
If a student applies after they have completed their studies, there's no reason for the university to be told about it at all.
The Home Office has announced a 'visa brake' for certain nationalities applying to come to the UK on student visa routes.
But all of this could have been avoided if the HO actually improved their own systems and data-sharing with universities... 🧵
www.gov.uk/government/s...
UK Government: Professor Brian Bell has been appointed as the new chief economic advisor to the Treasury.
"Despite all their difficulties, universities remain an enormous & irreplaceable national asset...But ministers cannot continue to ignore the impossible situation that universities have been placed in by successive governments."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The UK's sluggush productivity has been the defining feature of my adult life.
We talk a lot about the 08 financial crash but the focus on that one event obscures the wider, more dangerous, gradual loss of everyday prosperity.
chrisdillow.substack.com/p/wallowing-...
think we're all sorted for E's and wizz actually mate
Problem for the govt is it doesn't seem to have an articulated vision for the 'right' level of immigration in general (which is bad target anyway or (better) for specific forms of migration. It is just hoping that hardline rhetoric and falling numbers make the issue go away.
If you ever feel like you’re not good enough, remember you’re probably not…
www.brusselstimes.com/1846332/belg...
"So far, keeping immigration control in the news spotlight, and over-promising and under-delivering on it, has provided the perfect fuel for the populist political challenge in the UK."
www.smf.co.uk/mahmoods-dan...
‘UK net migration 20% lower in 2024 than first thought, ONS says,’ reports BBC. Estimate now 345,000.
New net migration stats published next Thursday expected to show further fall.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments:
One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.
you don't have to put on blackface to get social media attention. you can simply develop mild depression, join a menswear forum, spend the next 15 years arguing about pants, and then weaponize the knowledge against your enemies on social media.
Good question for the BBC and its board.
Researchers applying for the UK's Global Talent visa face high upfront costs Upfront cost of visa to applicant and employer in 2025 UK Denmark £692 India £602 Australia £405 Israel £362 US £305 Italy £235 Netherlands 1 £207 Germany | £170 Spain 1£144 Sweden | £117 South Korea | £98 France £84 Japan £21 £5,941 £O £2,000 £4 Source: Fragomen for the Royal Society • Excludes ongoing costs such as mandatory healthcare premiums or fees such as language tests
The costs of the UK’s Global Talent Visa looks a trifle high in comparison to competitor countries - largely through the Immigration Health Surcharge (which critics say is a form of double taxation as they contribute to the NHS through normal tax on their earnings)
Tonight I was in the same room as Bruce f**king Springsteen.
❤️❤️❤️
Bringing back maintenance grants is the right idea, but funding this off the backs of international students - who already cross-subsidise domestic students - is the wrong way of doing this.
👇
www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/news/...
What are the drivers of mistrust in universities?
Whether it’s in 🇬🇧 or 🇦🇺 we’re facing the same issues - and the same could be said in 🇺🇸, 🇨🇦, 🇪🇺 too.
“Feels a little like I'm stuck in Seven Sisters
North London, oh, England
And maybe that's okay”
Matthew Goodwin copied out yesterday morning's Home Office quarterly statistics and sent his subscribers a conspiratorial memo on what the government is "simply not telling you"
I'd really recommend the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network (www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/early-career... ) - you don't need an affiliation to join, but you get access to free workshops & events (the network pays for travel to its own events), & to funding and grants!
Gotta love that over here Trump is shredding the U.S. Constitution left and right hourly and extorting hundreds of millions from businesses and universities while running crypto scams but in the U.K. the big issue is the foreign secretary going fishing with Vance without a £7 rod license
“With this in mind I hope you will be able to avoid any responsibility for running a university.”
open.substack.com/pub/profseri...
probably still quicker than changing to the Victoria Line at Green Park
