Sir Paul Beresford MP calls for Commonwealth debate focussing on immigration

Sir Paul Beresford MP has called on the government to allow parliamentary time for a debate on the Commonwealth, focusing on immigration.

He asked the Leader of the House Chris Grayling the following question:

Sir Paul: Will my right hon. Friend persuade the Government to have a debate on the UK’s relationship with the Commonwealth, particularly the old Commonwealth? I have just returned from visiting New Zealand. It is definitely there and I am very conscious that, in our drive to reduce immigration, the UK is losing out on highly educated English-speaking people, generally graduates, who have very much to offer this nation in health, education, agriculture, banking, research, the armed forces and—dare I say it?—even rugby. There are kith and kin issues with such nations. They have stood with us—and they continue to stand with us today—in major and less major wars. We need to recognise that.

The somewhat disappointing answer was:

Chris Grayling: Of course, we try to maintain a sensible balance in our immigration system. It is necessary, right and proper to have controls. At the same time, we have routes for experienced people to come to this country and work. Many from Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the Commonwealth have done so over many years. I am sure that Home Office Ministers will have heard my hon. Friend’s comments and that they will do their best to take as pragmatic an approach as they can, but he will understand that there have to be limitations—our electors expect it.

Unfortunately the government is still failing to recognise the damaging impact that our immigration rules are having on those from the Commonwealth seeking to live, work, and contribute in the UK.

We highlighted some of these issues and made 6 pragmatic proposals for improving the situation in our report "How to Solve a Problem Like a Visa." We encourage the government to implement these proposals as soon as possible.

Uptick in Commonwealth migration is welcome but there is still a long way to go

Figures released this morning show a small increase in Commonwealth migration but as the below chart shows, there is still a long way to go to reach levels seen just a few years ago.

Additionally, we are still seeing the Commonwealth declining as a percentage of the UK's immigration. As can be seen below, Commonwealth citizens are being squeezed out of the UK's immigrant picture.

It's time for the UK Government to start offering a fair and level playing field to the Commonwealth. Implementing the recommendations of our "How to Solve a Problem Like a Visa" report would be a great start.

All figures are sourced from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

CX is available for comment and interviews. Details of how to get in touch are here.

CX is putting the Commonwealth on the agenda

Part of our mission at CX is reminding the UK of its Commonwealth opportunities and potential as well as ensuring that the Commonwealth is at the heart of public debate and political discussion.

In the last few days we've been doing just that, publishing a number of articles on a variety of topics and platforms. Here are a few of our recent pieces:

Telegraph: Commonwealth citizens could swing the EU referendum

Our Chairman Lord Howell and our Executive Director Tim Hewish have written for the Daily Telegraph pointing out that Commonwealth citizens resident in the UK will be able to vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

They could represent a swing of up to 6%, more than enough to change the outcome. Both sides of the debate would be foolish to ignore these crucial potential voters.

Read the full piece here.

ConHome: The Government is wrong. We need more students from the Commonwealth to stay and work in Britain.

Our Director Ralph Buckle wrote for the ConservativeHome website attacking government proposals further cracking down on international students wishing to work in the UK.

He concludes: "even the suggestion of [these proposals] is damaging Britain in myriad ways. If they are implemented, it could take decades for us to recover."

Read it here.

The Commentator: UK could do a lot worse than becoming “an Atlantic Singapore”

Ralph also wrote for The Commentator at the weekend. He rebutted an article which was critical of Singapore and instead said that the UK could learn a lot from the city state.

He argued that "Singapore is easily one of the most open nations on the planet, and one of the least corrupt... In or out of the EU, Britain could certainly do with a dose of Singapore’s entrepreneurial zeal."

You can find the article here.

ConWayForward: Six reasons to support free trade with the Commonwealth

Completing a hat-trick of articles, Ralph also penned a piece for Conservative Way Forward's blog.

He set out six reasons why the Commonwealth should be our first port of call for increasing and liberalising trade.

See if you agree here.

Worrying moves by UK government on post study visas

While CX was in Canada, it was announced that the UK government is planning to send non-EU students home after they have completed their studies rather than giving them the opportunity to find work and apply for a new visa while they're here.

CX is obviously strongly opposed to this move and continues to support the reinstatement of the Tier 1 Post-Study Work Visa as proposed in our report "How to Solve a Problem like a Visa." In addition we call for Commonwealth countries to be restored to the Youth Mobility Visa.

What is particularly worrying about this new announcement is that the number of non-EU students is already falling dramatically. The numbers who arrived in the year ending December 2014, was down 25% compared to just four years previously.

Even more worrying is that a large percentage of this fall is due to a reduction in Commonwealth students coming to study in the UK. This number has fallen by nearly 60% in the same period, the lowest year end figure since 2005.

By way of comparison, EU citizens coming to the UK to study has actually seen a small increase since 2010, going up by 3,000.

The UK needs an influx of young, talented, and bright workers and what better place to find them than among the graduates of the UK's world-beating universities?

The point was made well by James Dyson who responded to the proposals here.

However we would (as you might expect) suggest that the Commonwealth should be top of the list for finding potential workers.

The extensive speaking of English across much of the Commonwealth, the use of similar (and often identical) legal and accounting practices, and the cultural ties we share, provide several obvious advantages but one that is often overlooked is the extremely youthful population.

60% of the 2.3 billion population of the Commonwealth are under 30 years of age. In fact one in twelve people alive right now is an Indian aged under 27.

Compare this to England and the figure is almost exactly reversed. 63% of our population is over 30 years of age. Our median age is now 40 years old and is expected to rise continuously for at least the next 20 years.

Commenting on this, CX Director Ralph Buckle said:

"Britain is facing a dangerously ageing population with a spiraling effect on national debt as the burden on state pensions and the NHS only increases.

We need to be seeking out young bright graduates to work here, not driving them away. The Commonwealth would be the perfect place to start.

Contrary to what is often claimed, it looks like British pensioners will be the ones stretching the welfare state in the future, not migrant workers."

All figures are sourced from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

CX is available for comment and interviews. Details of how to get in touch are here.

New employment statistics show mixed picture for Commonwealth citizens seeking work in the UK

There was some welcome news for Commonwealth citizens in the ONS' latest employment statistics. The number of Australians and New Zealanders finding work jumped by 9% year on year in the last quarter of 2014. However this is still well below peak levels and only around half the increase seen in EU nationals finding work.

Figures for the same quarter in previous years show that the number of Australian and New Zealand nationals finding work in the UK is still down by over 7% from 5 years ago and down by over 15% since 2004.

The figures for South African nationals are even worse. They fell a further 1.7% year on year and are now 43% lower than they were in the same quarter of 2008, the year the country was removed from the Youth Mobility Visa.

The proposals from our report "How to solve a problem like a visa" would ensure that Commonwealth citizens wanting to work or study in the UK, and vice-versa, are able to do so. It's vital that they are adopted!

***Update*** TNT magazine report our findings and a quote from our Director here: "Crumbs of comfort as more Antipodeans find work in UK."