Commentary & Podcasts

It may seem counterintuitive that, in a time of ongoing labour shortages in the UK, the Migration Advisory Committee has recommended abolishing the use of the Shortage Occupation List which allows employers greater leeway to bring in overseas workers into shortage positions at a salary discount. Jonathan Thomas, SMF Senior fellow and migration expert, explains what is going on and highlights existing aspects of the UK’s system which could be adjusted to help better address shortages while supporting wages and working conditions.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman is right to criticise the international asylum system, but wrong to blame the Refugee Convention. In this blog, Jonathan Thomas shows why states sharing responsibility for legitimate refugees is a political, not legal, problem.

Rishi Sunak claims that rowing back on key net zero policies will be saving households money - but is this true? In this blog, we provide cost-benefit analysis of Sunak’s announcements EVs, home energy efficiency and boilers - showing that ultimately families will end up paying thousands more.

The latest figures show that the Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) has raised almost £1.5 billion in revenue since its introduction. In this blog, Jonathan Thomas argues that the government should be clear that it is devoting these funds towards the ISC’s stated aim of addressing skills gaps in the UK workforce, rather than allowing them to disappear into an all-purpose black hole.

In the Spring Budget, Jeremy Hunt re-introduced a plan for investment zones, claiming that they will create "mini Canary Wharves' across the UK. In this blog, Gideon Salutin argues that without additional funding and bold action on fiscal devolution, the Chancellor's claim is unrealistic.

From speaking to landlords, we know that their greatest obstacle (and simultaneously, their greatest motivator) on going green is regulation. Postponing stricter energy efficiency requirements would be a mistake – jeopardising both the Government’s commitment to net zero and better housing.