World's top graduates get new UK visa option

It's not really a change. It's for optics and internal consumption only.

The UK's current gov is firmly wedded to a delusional image of itself as a major imperial power of vast wealth and influence. Such is its majesty it is for ever in danger of being infiltrated and undermined by unpleasantly independent Europeans, who for some reason refuse to see the UK as the most important country in Europe. And also by nasty brown and black people from who knows where?

All policy is designed to reassure itself of that view. Not to solve practical problems.

In the real world the number of top graduates who will want to stay on with a two year work visa - and no guaranteed extension - is somewhere very close to zero.

There's no conception that other countries may have a more appealing work culture and a more open and successful academic culture.

As it happens, the university sector in the UK is currently closing many departments and firing and re-hiring many of its professors so it can cut their pay. As a result many are on strike and others have left.

Any student who is reasonably bright and considering the UK is going to know this.

"ability"

For me, the most dispiriting thing is that the UK is codifying a broken "meritocratic" system, with the flaws you identify, along with dubious rankings into international law.

What you're pointing out — that individuals should be allowed visas based on whatever merit they can make an argument for — should be the obvious thing. Why it gets buried in these layers of sociopoltically dysfunctional nonsense is beyond me.

I would go even further personally in opening up national borders, but I increasingly feel a political anomaly. A strong state in my opinion should afford opportunities for everyone to demonstrate contribution, and only take that away when someone has become a demonstrated risk.

> Immigration policy doubly so...

Name me a party with a chance of winning a general election in the UK that explicitly commits to lowering immigration substantially as a key policy. There isn't one!

> The UK's current gov is firmly wedded to a delusional image of itself as a major imperial power of vast wealth and influence. Such is its majesty it is for ever in danger of being infiltrated and undermined by unpleasantly independent Europeans, who for some reason refuse to see the UK as the most important country in Europe. And also by nasty brown and black people from who knows where?

This is complete nonsense! Inward immigration has gone UP since Brexit, the cabinet is more brown/black than ever before, and the establishment clearly intend to do nothing whatsoever about the porous border in the south (don't be fooled by the laughable Rwanda holding camps initiative, the main motive of which is likely to funnel even more to the legal system etc.).

OTOH I would agree that the government (regime?) are delusional, but I would extend this to the entirety of the establishment, who seem to have departed from reality a long time ago, and seem to believe that the correct response to the UK's reduced circumstances and the population's temerity in daring to vote against globalism is to hasten its destruction.