Drop students from the immigration target – and then drop that target altogether
The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. To those Brexiteers who believe that leaving the EU “finally” gives Britain the chance to meet the target of restricting net immigration to 100,000 a year, we have to point out that the reason the target was not met for six years is that it is a foolish objective, not that it was impossible. To date, the Prime Minister has refused to exclude students from the target, which would be the first step towards a rational immigration policy, and which would command much popular support, as today’s poll suggests. She is right, but they should be counted when they settle and not when they first arrive – otherwise the target has the perverse effect of preventing Britain’s universities from recruiting fee-paying students from among the best in the world. Students are the most obvious example of what is wrong with the net immigration target, but while it would make sense to exclude students from it, we argue that the target itself should be dropped.
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