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The Courier
2 days ago
- Business
- The Courier
EXCLUSIVE: Dundee snubbed by home secretary as immigration changes hit university
An invitation to see the impact of tighter immigration rules on Dundee University has been rejected by home secretary Yvette Cooper. Arbroath and Broughty Ferry MP Stephen Gethins had invited Ms Cooper to the city after the UK Government announced a series of proposed changes to immigration rules. This includes further restrictions on fee-paying international students – seen as critical to the survival of universities – that many fear will lead to a further reduction in recruiting. Dundee University's financial crisis was prompted by a sudden reduction in foreign students. The institution's coffers faced a multi-millon hit last year due to a significant fall in international recruitment. Mr Gethins says he wanted to bring the home secretary to the City of Discovery to see 'first hand' the damage of the UK Government's so-called hostile environment. But the invite was snubbed by Ms Cooper and migration minister Seema Malhotra. The Courier also requested an interview with UK Scottish Secretary Ian Murray on the topic, but this was declined. In a written response to SNP MP Stephen Gethins, the minister said: 'This government continues to welcome and value the contribution that is made to our society, our economy and our higher education institutions by those overseas students who want to come to the UK. 'Our country has some of the best universities in the world, and we want the best minds in every country to aspire to complete their educations here. 'However, immigration must be properly controlled and managed, so that the system is fair and works for the UK.' Mr Gethins says he is disappointed his offer was not accepted. He told The Courier: 'The challenges that Dundee University is facing are driven by Westminster policies such as Brexit and the hostile environment with the Scottish Government expected to pick up the pieces. 'I wanted the home secretary to come to Dundee and see first hand not just the damage of those policies but see first hand an international university that benefits us all through the excellence of its research and teaching. 'That is something we should all get behind.' Mr Gethins has also sought clarity on whether the Scottish Government's budget could be penalised as a result of the new levy being placed on international student income at universities in England and Wales. While ministers say the policy won't be forced on Scotland, where education is devolved, Mr Gethins fears the block grant for the Scottish Parliament could be reduced as a result.
The National
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Anti-immigration policies 'cutting jobs at Scottish universities'
A House of Commons Library briefing shared with the Sunday National showed that policies such as banning students from bringing over family members will put off people from abroad from studying in the UK. It comes after Dundee University, which relies on income from foreign students, announced it was cutting 300 jobs as it attempts to tackle a financial crisis which will also rely on it seeking increased public funding. The Sunday National understands that Dundee recruits overseas students from countries like Nigeria, where the ability to bring over family members is highly attractive. For students from places like the US, this has less of an impact. (Image: NQ) The Tories changed immigration rules in 2024 by shutting off routes to the UK for the dependents of international students unless they are studying for a PhD. It was part of a wider crackdown on immigration which also made it harder for health and social care workers to bring over family. Labour have maintained the rules, despite calls for a reprieve in light of the impact they are having on universities. Research from the House of Commons library showed that the Migration Advisory Committee had advised the UK Government early last year that clamping down on students bringing their families to live with them would 'mechanically reduce the number of graduate visas'. It also highlighted that the most recent data, published in February 2025, showed that student visa applications had dropped by 13% last year while there was an 84% fall in applications from the dependents of students. SNP MP Stephen Gethins, a former St Andrews University academic, said Labour's tough stance on immigration meant Scottish universities were paying the price. He said: 'Higher education in Scotland has been impacted disastrously by the decisions that are taken at Westminster, decisions that have led to the hostile environment, Brexit and other areas which act as a counterweight to the internationalisation agenda that has been pursued by our universities in recent years that has put them in positions of excellence in terms of research and in terms of teaching. 'What we know from Dundee and the acting principal has highlighted, for example, the detrimental impact that this is having on jobs, and in some of our institutions in Scotland. 'In Dundee, for example, the drop in postgraduate students coming along has had a very significant impact on the institution and a significant on their income. That's something that should concern us all.' (Image: Newsquest) Scotland's status as a home of 'world-leading' universities was at risk, unless the UK Government changed course, Gethins (above) warned. He said: 'Having institutions that are internationally competitive is why our higher education sector, our universities are world-leading. There's no other word for it, they are world-leading. 'And if we want to remain world-leading, we must tackle, we must challenge Westminster on some of its damaging policies that are having a material impact right now on some of these institutions.' A Dundee University spokesperson said: "The changes to visa regulations have undoubtedly impacted on international student recruitment across the higher education sector in the UK. "The downturn in international recruitment has been one of the significant factors in the financial challenges facing the university. We are working intensively with partners around the world to bring students to Dundee.' Scottish Higher Education Minister Graeme Dey said: "International students are welcome in Scotland and they make an important contribution to our campuses and local communities. 'We recognise the issues raised by the sector around a decline in international student numbers and damaging UK migration policies which is why we have proposed a Scottish Graduate Visa. This would act as a bridge between the existing Graduate Visa and a Skilled Workers Visa, allowing us to attract international students and retain international graduates from Scottish institutions.' The UK Government was approached for comment.
The National
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Scotland needs control of immigration – but the UK refuses to let go
The latest politico to take up that mantle was SNP MP Stephen Gethins who recently introduced a brief bill which would have devolved migration. He acknowledged throughout his opening speech that it would need essential amending from many quarters at the third reading. A reading it will never now get thanks to the whole shebang being talked out by a raft of MPs who get a nosebleed should they travel too far north of Watford. Even Michael Gove admitted the need to involve Scotland at the sharp end of any migration legislation. Then again, he's the kind of guy – about to be a Lord – who makes you want to look out the window and check if he says it's raining. READ MORE: John Swinney urges UK's biggest news agency to reconsider Scottish job cuts However, he was quoted by Gethins as saying: 'The numbers who would come in the future would be decided by the Westminster Parliament and the Holyrood Parliament working together.' Sure, Michael, sure. Most of the English MPs throughout the exchanges seemed to be fretting that if we gave out Scottish visas, the recipients would scarper elsewhere asap. Maybe they should have read up on the existing safeguards. Always tricky moving the lips before the brain is safely engaged. For starters, getting a work visa means the taxman knows not just where you bide, but who your employer is. Take up a job not on the paperwork and among the things instantly lost is that precious right to work. While the UK Government obsesses over small boat numbers they ignore arrival patterns. It's what happens when you spend too much time in the arms of the Daily Mail! Our history, sadly, is of outward migration, whereas both England and Wales have always had more people coming in. It's only since the beginning of this century we have enjoyed welcoming new citizens, but not in the numbers we need to address the fact that every year more people die than are born. And not in the age group which produces more Scots. As our own government noted: 'Migration is only one strand in the approach to addressing Scotland's demographic challenge, but it is a crucial one. Scotland's history of out-migration and population decline has left a structural legacy. (Image: PA) 'Communities, especially rural communities, did not just lose those individuals who left Scotland but also the potential future generations of their children and grandchildren. This legacy means that Scotland has long been more reliant on migration than many other areas of the United Kingdom.' As our Tourism Alliance notes: 'Introducing a Scottish specific visa scheme not only would match immigration to the demand for certain skills' – as it has done for centuries – 'but also encourage more people coming to live and work in Scotland, particularly in rural and island communities that are experiencing a drain in people of working age and families.' Try telling any of that to the bean counters, however, both in the UK Government and the increasingly shrill right-wing media. The unpalatable fact is that our working-age population will fall by almost 15% over the next 50 years whilst the UK as a whole will have a modest increase. Brutally, we need more young families, more working taxpayers, more innovating entrepreneurs, and a smaller percentage in 'god's waiting room.' You will not need me to remind you that the latter cohorts are also the most stubborn Unionists. Plus, historically, migrants to Scotland have contributed way more than they cost the public services. Perhaps you recall the Fresh Talent Initiative where graduate students could live and work in Scotland for a couple of years after getting their degree. It ran for three years till 2008 and was such a runaway success that Westminster nicked it. Now the Scottish Government proposes a Scottish graduate visa, linked to a Scottish tax code to ensure that the recipient continues to live and work here. They want to price it at a realistic level too, given that few shiny new graduates walk into very high-paying employment. Conversely, everything the Tory government did from the loopy Rwanda scheme to halting family and spouse visas has impacted in all the wrong ways. Last November the Home Office noted (with pride, mind you) that compared with the same period in 2023 there had been a startling 84% drop in visas issued to health and care workers. You will probably have clocked that these are two sectors that are desperately and usually vainly trying to recruit already trained staff and who, certainly in care work, attract dismal wages for vital work. Similarly, it has become much more difficult to hire foreign skilled workers because a) they now might have to leave spouse and family behind and b) at the moment they require an unlikely salary level. As a result of all of these unnatural barriers, the EU-UK traffic has ground to a halt, with EU residents, understandably, feeling something less than valued. All of these anti-migrant initiatives have impacted the rural economy, particularly in Scotland, on our seasonal industries, and on our higher education sector which is on its financial knees all over the country. The gap caused by giving our own weans free tuition was offset to an extent by a lucrative seam of foreign students. Since migration has become an all-purpose dirty word in some political circles, other countries like India, Australia and the USA have not been slow to take up the slack. Another oddity of the migration debate is folks who have never encountered a migrant in their puff, pronouncing that the immigration numbers are way too high. I get that if you're living somewhere bordering the English Channel and are fearful of added pressure on public services, but the same paranoia seems to infect people never likely to be affected. It is fervently to be hoped that with Reform breathing down the back of so many necks, the issue does not become – in the current jargon – 'weaponised' in the run-up to our own election. If we've learned anything in the last few years, it's that Farage and Co are the very last people who should be left in charge of migration policy, or allowed to have undue influence on those who are. So, bottom line, we are growing the pensioner population but not the working-age one, new Scots liable to have and raise their kids here. We have income barriers which are higher than any of our young graduates are likely to attain from the off. Furthermore, the Gethins bill, strangled at birth, was only trying to follow a path already trodden in other countries like Canada, our new bestie, Australia and several more. They too recognise the need to resist a 'one-size-fits-all solution'. The UK system, as currently used, is bureaucratic, unwieldy, and too tightly focused on income levels rather than the skills variety. The USA for instance has just introduced a gold card route which lets more millionaires and billionaires avoid the tedious business of actually applying for entry to Trumpland. They have also let loose a goon squad of folk whose job it is to hoover up legitimate incomers who may have committed the unpardonable sin of getting the 'wrong' kind of tattoo. The UK Home Secretary, for now at least, only has plans to outsource some asylum claimants to the Balkans. If you feel a wee shiver travelling up your spine, you are not alone.
The National
25-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Why won't Labour give Scotland same deal Canada gives its provinces?
SNP MP Stephen Gethins has proposed a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons which would amend the Scotland Act 1998 to allow the Scottish Government to set up a Scottish visa scheme. The bill proposes to devolve more powers over immigration to Holyrood, to increase Scotland's workforce in the hospitality, tourism and care sectors, all of which are suffering a recruitment crisis due to Brexit. Speaking on Sky News, the MP pointed out that the plan had been proposed by former Tory minister Michael Gove before the EU referendum and was discussed by the Labour party in Scotland ahead of the last General Election. READ MORE: Scotland shouldn't aim for independence without a currency plan, says expert Both Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie promised voters, during the UK election campaign last year, that a Labour government would be open to introducing a Scottish visa. However like most of the campaign promises of the Labour party in Scotland, once the votes are counted the promise is filed in the bin. Other countries, including Canada and Australia, have decentralised immigration systems, allowing their states, provinces and territories to tailor immigration to their own particular needs. There is no reason at all why the UK could not do the same. What does the SNP's by-election victory tell us? Council by-elections always have very low turnout, even when council elections are held across the entire country. The only council elections in recent years in which turnout has exceeded 50% were in 2007. However, this was because that year the Holyrood election was held on the same day. When there's a council by-election, turnout plummets even from the low baseline. There is little publicity that the by-election is taking place – and even politically engaged members of the electorate might not realise it's happening. Even in local media, it may be buried between stories about a fight outside a local pub and a fundraising event in a primary school. Voter turnout in these circumstances depends on the ability of political parties to knock on doors and ensure that their voters are aware. Ross Vettraino passed away in February (Image: Fife Council) That said, there was a by-election yesterday in Fife, in the Glenrothes Central and Thornton ward following the death of veteran SNP councillor Ross Vettraino in February. This election was no exception to the rule that turnout is always low; just 24.2% of the electorate voted. This is in line with the turnout in local authority by elections held in Scotland, which in 2024 averaged 24.6%. Nevertheless, unlike an opinion poll, these are real votes in a real election and as such are very informative about the state of play on the political playing field. This election was dominated by the SNP which took 2439 votes or 47.6% of the first preference votes, more than double the 649 or 21.5% which went to Labour. The hard-right Reform UK came in third with 541 or 17.9%, and the LibDems trailed in fourth place with 207 or 6.9%. The Conservatives came in last place with just 185 or 6.1%. The LibDems recorded a slight improvement in vote share since 2022, both Labour and the Tories experienced significant declines. READ MORE: James Kelly: What we can learn from the SNP's massive Fife by-election win Although Reform seems to have done well, during the 2016 EU referendum Glenrothes was one of the areas in Scotland with a relatively high Leave vote, albeit still far short of a majority. This will have given the Reform UK candidate a strong voter base upon which to build, aided by disaffected Conservatives and hardline Unionists amongst former Labour voters. This is now the fifth council by-election in a row which has been won by the SNP. Given all that the SNP has faced in the intervening years, its vote has held up remarkably well, while Labour's share of the vote dropped significantly. Labour was never likely to do too well in this by-election, but if the party was on track to win next year's Holyrood vote it should have performed better than it did in 2022. On current showing Labour is set to do even worse in the next Holyrood election than it did in 2021. Cue the world's tiniest violin. The result also confirmed that the Tories, the original nasty party, are haemorrhaging votes to the even nastier Reform UK. Reform UK leader Nigel FarageSince Reform have never held power in any meaningful way, they are still able to pretend that they can offer all things to all people. That will surely change if they ever take power – and may all the gods help us – Nigel Farage becomes prime minister and 30p Lee Anderson holds an important Cabinet post. Then all the corrupt horror of what Reform really stands for will be revealed and voter disappointment and anger will be even greater and more comprehensive than that experienced by the Labour party after Keir Starmer took power. The Labour prime minister may lose the title of the greatest charlatan ever to mar the face of British politics. This piece is an extract from today's REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug. To receive our full newsletter including this analysis straight to your email inbox, click HERE and click the "+" sign-up symbol for the REAL Scottish Politics
Spectator
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Is a Scottish visa the answer to Scotland's workforce crisis?
There aren't many politicians calling for a rise in immigration to Britain at the moment, but you can count on the SNP to be different. Today the party's Scottish visa bill had its second reading in the sparsely-populated Commons, with sponsor Arbroath and Broughty Ferry MP Stephen Gethins spending 50 minutes elaborately making the case for its passage through parliament. Taking aim at the 'poisonous' Reform stance on Britain's borders, Gethins' speech dipped between reprimanding Labour for their lack of support and pleading with them to back his call to fully devolve immigration powers to Scotland. Neither carrot nor stick seemed to have much effect. Giving Scotland a separate immigration system to the rest of Britain would, the SNP believe, help tackle the problems of depopulation and deskilling faced by Scotland's highlands, islands and rural areas.
