One of the big claims from the “leave” campaign for brexit i.e. leaving the EU, was that it would lead to control over immigration. Obviously it ignored the obvious truth that most immigration into the UK was from outside of the EU, and the fact that there were any number of ways the UK could have chosen to control EU immigration (like many other EU countries) whilst staying within the EU.

It also was vulnerable to the accusation of racism.

The latter was always answered by the claim that what “people” wanted was to control the type of immigration so that skilled people would always have a place here.

Turns out post-referendum that’s not working very well for us because actually telling immigrants that you don’t want them, generally makes them stay away. We may reach a stage when we don’t allow people who want to come and work here through the border, but it’s much more likely that people will just choose not to come because they don’t think we’re a very welcoming place, or very nice people.

In the aftermath of Brexit, LinkedIn data quickly showed that fewer people from the EU were showing an interest in taking up jobs in the UK.

Their hiring data shows that the UK has gone from being a country that gains talent from the EU to one that loses talent to it.

The change is significant.

• Over the last year alone, migration to the UK from the EU has fallen 26%, while more people are leaving the UK for the EU than were previously. The UK remains a net importer of talent from non-EU countries, because the number of professionals leaving for these countries is still lower than the number arriving from them. However, it is importing talent at a significantly lower rate.
• Net migration to the UK from the rest of the world is also dropping. It’s down 20% over the last year, almost as significant a reduction as migration from the EU.
• The UK is no longer seen as a good place to advance your career and there is no better example of this critical perception shift than Ireland. The UK has been seen as a place for Irish professionals to gain experience for decades. However, data now shows migration from Ireland dropping 37% over the last year, the biggest decline of all EU nations.

Does reduced migration from overseas mean more opportunities for British professionals?  Looking in detail at London, traditionally the UK’s largest net importer of talent from abroad: London has not been immune to the switch in migration flows, and is also now losing talent to other countries rather than gaining it. However, domestic migration into London is unchanged. It is not increasing to fill the gap ie. there is an acute shortage of skilled people developing.

 

It turns out that if you tell people to f*ck off, they don’t like you, don’t want to work for or with you, and you end up all alone.

They think the UK is racist – who could not have seen that coming?