The whole point of the Brexit referendum in 2016 was to put an end to a long-running debate in the UK within the Conservative party. More than six years on, the aftermath has led to scores of new debates, often on issues that seem rather bizarre. The latest being a suggestion that to curb immigration, a new limit on international students coming to study in the UK ought to be put into effect. It probably is not the proposal most likely to baffle observers, but it is one of the most self-defeating.
One could engage incessantly on the issue of migration and its societal impacts with data and evidence, but it is a purely ideological "culture war" that decides the outcome. Even Britain’s recent former prime minister, Liz Truss, who became an ardent Brexiteer over the course of time, was planning to increase immigration – as recently as a few weeks ago – in order to fill job vacancies and boost economic growth. But as long as British politicians continue to treat immigration like political football, the public will have to deal with the consequences.
But on the matter of international students, the bizarreness manifestly increases. International students bring a variety of benefits to the UK, which is why UK universities are so keen to invite them. Several, if not all universities in the country, have full-time staff working to attract international students, with many of them often sending personnel to different countries to encourage those students to apply to their campuses. Indeed, the UK government itself agreed – in the International Growth Strategy from just three years ago – that the plan was to increase the number of foreign students studying in the country each year.
Why should we sacrifice economic well-being even further on the altar of pointless ideological culture wars
When the proposal first appeared in the press last week, universities warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that such a move would be “an act of economic self-harm”. That is the primary argument being used at present by universities, it seems.
The UK’s Russell Group, which is formed of 24 top research-oriented universities in the country similar to the US's "Ivy League", has raised an alarm with regard to the damage to the national economy.
International students pay much more than British students for access to higher education in the UK, and are thus incredibly valuable in financial terms to British universities. Indeed, for some universities, the absence of international students could mean the end of their existence; such is the dependence on those funds, according to the chair of the government’s own Migration Advisory Committee.
Universities UK, a collective that represents 140 universities, argued that limiting international students would specifically damage the local economies of many areas of the country, where international students currently make a significant difference. The scale should not be underestimated. The Higher Education Statistics Authority reported that on average, international students paid more than 40 per cent of all university fees every year from 2016 onwards.
I spent eight years in British higher education as a student, up to doctoral level, and much of the past 15 years as faculty. It was in university that I first engaged with a plethora of cultures, with students from around the world. That is valuable in and of itself, in a way that cannot be sufficiently quantified.
I personally had a fairly cosmopolitan upbringing, and the experience was still astounding to me. But many of my compatriots had never left their small towns in the UK, and had far less exposure to the outside world than I had. Coming into contact with the "global village" on our university campus widened our horizons in ways that we benefitted from, permanently.
As the vice chancellor of Liverpool University pointed out last week, every single parliamentary constituency in the UK benefits from the financial investment made by international students, and the country in general gets a net contribution of at least £25.9 billion ($31 billion) a year as a result.
There are other arguments to be made. The Russell Group insisted that such a move sends a "wrong signal about the UK on the global stage" – at a time when the government is claiming that the "Global Britain" brand is paramount.
As the effects of Brexit continue to be felt across the country, Britons need more, not less, engagement internationally. A restrictive policy around international students furthers the perception that the UK is not a welcoming place for foreigners; indeed, it already risks that. The UK Border Police in a well-documented case held an international student from Nepal under dubious pretexts for almost two weeks, because their officers could not believe that he was actually a student, despite his having all the requisite paperwork. There was little to suggest that the student was a suspected security risk.
The UK is going to be facing more and more challenges in the coming period. Some of them will be entirely unavoidable, and we must live with that. But why should we voluntarily shoot ourselves in the foot, sacrificing economic well-being even further on the altar of pointless ideological culture wars? There is really no need at all.
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Full list of Emmy 2020 nominations
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
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Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
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The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
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Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Brian Cox, Succession
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Jeremy Strong, Succession
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria
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The Masked Singer
Nailed It!
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Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES/TV MOVIE
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Octavia Spencer, Self Made
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
Little Fires Everywhere
Mrs. America
Unbelievable
Unorthodox
Watchmen
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dead to Me
The Good Place
Insecure
The Kominsky Method
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Schitt’s Creek
What We Do In The Shadows
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul
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Killing Eve
The Mandalorian
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
