Government accused of economic mismanagement and snobbery over new visa scheme

Responding to news that the government will give preferential treatment to visa applicants who have graduated from the world’s top 50 universities, Caroline Lucas MP, member of the UK Trade and Business Commission said,

“Giving preferential treatment to someone who scraped through Harvard, over someone at the top of their class from another institution or someone without a degree who can help address Britain’s acute labour shortages, betrays both astounding snobbery and a failure to understand the serious workforce challenges facing the UK.

“The government must detail exactly what evidence they have used to inform this policy, or many will conclude it’s one rooted in classism aimed at giving the illusion of success rather than having a meaningful impact on our ailing economy.”