Ben Brindle

Hong Kong BN(O) Migrants Panel Survey Wave 2 Result Seminar Discover Wave 1 & 2 findings of the BN(O) Panel Survey on 11 Feb 2026. Panels on community and research findings. Join us for insights!

Around 185,000 Hong Kongers have come to the UK since 2021, after the BNO visa was created.

Join us on the 11th of February to find out how Hong Kongers are adapting to life in the UK.

Register here 👇
www.eventbrite.com/e/hong-kong-...

Why AI won’t wipe out white-collar jobs The technology will expand their scope and raise their value

This was another great article www.economist.com/finance-and-...

The AI Shift: Could AI make — rather than take — jobs? Public attention is focused on possible AI job losses, but history tells us that new tech usually generates jobs too

Good to see some very good articles pointing out that AI won't only take jobs, but will change and create jobs, too.

We see that in academic papers - including by the excellent Daron Acemoglu, mentioned in this piece.

www.ft.com/content/d8e0...

What lessons can be drawn from the Hong Kong BN(O) visa scheme for the UK’s support for new migrants? - UK in a changing Europe As the Hong Kong BN(O) visa scheme approaches its fifth anniversary, Heather Rolfe looks at the lessons that can be learned from the scheme in how the UK can support new migrants.

"For BN(O)s the help which has been most needed is in securing work which matches skills."

✍️ @heather-rolfe.bsky.social looks at the lessons that can be learned from the Hong Kong BN(O) visa scheme

🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/lessons-from...

Presumably people who signed up but don't get the $60 could just not pay? As in, they can't be forced to shell out obscene amounts of money

Net migration to the UK - Migration Observatory An overview of net migration in the UK – defined as the difference between immigration and emigration of people moving for at least a year.

Not sure what to make of it all? Our briefing on net migration is a great place to start getting to grips with the big changes in migration to and from the UK in recent years.
migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/br...

CIRC 087: TEMPORARY EXEMPTION TO CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE IMMIGRATION RULES | The POA

Special dispensation for foreign prison officers who, it was widely reported last year, faced being unable to renew their work visas www.poauk.org.uk/news-events/...

Great to see #itfc finally beat Norwich. Last time it happened I was at school. Outside of that we didn't have much to shout about in 2025...

And, finally, I wholeheartedly recommend that everybody visits Moldova. It's a great country, with great wine.

As for my favourite TV, Severance season 2 was my pick until last week, when I finally started watching Andor. I'll have finished it by next week, I suspect.

I still don't get the hype around Stranger Things. It's bang average, and always has been.

It's that time when I tell anybody who will listen my favourite things from 2025.

First up, my favourite albums...

Geese - Getting Killed
Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
Viagra Boys - viagr aboys
Heartworms - Glutton for Punishment
Smerz - Big city life

LCD Soundsystem was my live music highlight

It also prioritises Skilled Workers who earn less, and so make a smaller contribution to the public finances.

For example, a librarian earning £41,700 would be prioritised over an IT director earning £85,000.

Employers in areas with lower salaries are less likely to be able to afford the median.

Grads/young migrants at the start of their careers also find it difficult to be hired at median earnings. The UK has a 'new entrant discount' (currently 4 years), but it takes them longer to earn the median.

To hire Skilled Workers, employers need to pay the higher of:

1. The general salary threshold (£41.7k). Its aim is to ensure SWs contribute to the public finances.

2. The job-specific going rate. It aims to prevent undercutting of Brits and is set at the median salary in each job.

The Migration Advisory Committee has recommended that the government reduce occupation-specific thresholds for Skilled Workers.

Here's why, in 3 posts...

The high court has told the Home Office the move on period for people granted refugee status should be 56 days (rather than 28) for those at risk of becoming homeless

The Migration Advisory Committee has released its 2025 annual report.

The report looks at the impact of migration on the UK's public finances, Overseas Domestic Workers, and migrants' English language abilities.

Here are three things they found 👇

Busy day for the MAC, who have also reviewed work visa salary requirements.

They recommend the general salary threshold remains at £41.7k, but also say it would be fine to lower the occ-specific going rate from the median earnings to the 25th pctl.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69413d...

Temporary protection: the UK’s new policies on asylum and returns - Migration Observatory This commentary discusses the asylum and returns policy reforms, comparisons to other European countries, and whether they will be successful in reducing the number of asylum applications and small bo...

What is the potential impact of the proposed reforms to the UK's asylum system?

Some measures, like restricting family reunion, may plausibly deter some people from coming to the UK. Yet the evidence is mixed, and insufficient to say whether any effects will be particularly large.

Certainly a better idea than 3rd place leading to progression.

The idea I've been most sold on is having 16 groups of 3 teams, where teams in, say, group A don't play each other, but the 3 teams in group B

New episode of the TDTM podcast just dropped, featuring migration statistics oracle and all-round inspiration Madeleine Sumption from Oxford's @migobs.bsky.social 🔊

Listen to the full episode now on Spotify ⬇️ or Apple Podcasts

open.spotify.com/episode/2Buv...

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You'll be delighted to know I'm now in Whamhalla. My end was a pedicab on 5th Ave

Tim Harford and Christmas is always a great mix.

I don't wrap the presents in my house, although I maintain that's because if it's not a conveniently shaped gift it will be wrapped with so much tape the gift won't be opened until next Christmas...

I wish I were that organised. And there will be no hermiting from me – going into a busy pub playing Xmas music is one of my only sources of adrenaline in December

It didn't start until today! I've been getting my listens in so I can hopefully go until Xmas day without

I'll never forgive IMDB for not crediting it on the Black Mirror Xmas special

Hot off the press! The latest Migration Observatory press release about today's migration statistics is out and you can read it below. Spoiler alert, massive fall in net migration. Immigration falls in all main categories except asylum: migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/press/net-mi...

Who is emigrating from the UK? - UK in a changing Europe John Mahon makes the case for having a better understanding of the British nationals leaving the UK. He argues that the cost to the state of British nationals leaving or returning to the UK varies, so...

🔃 "For public policy reasons and Treasury planning, it would be much better if we knew something about these citizen-emigrants."

✍️ @jsm27.bsky.social makes the case for having a better understanding of the British nationals leaving and returning to the UK

ukandeu.ac.uk/who-is-emigr...

International student levy on British universities confirmed in Budget 2025 documents www.gov.uk/government/p...

somehow this too is about the budget

Yes, very true (limited characters!)

Our interpretation is that dependants are subject to these rules, too. Not sure re middle-skill workers' dependants