Immigration is one of the most salient and polarised issues among the British public – and one that successive Government policy initiatives have failed to resolve. Now central to the UK’s political debate, the issue regularly makes headlines and is used as a device by parties to win public opinion. Seen by some as a missing part of the UK’s growth strategy, and by others as having gone too far, any discussions are often binary and divisive. And while politicians recognise the need to get immigration policy right; they continue to be torn over what strategy is best, let alone how to deliver it. In his latest book Why Immigration Policy Is Hard, Professor of Economics at the LSE and former Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee Alan Manning makes the case that while immigration policy will never satisfy everyone, that doesn’t mean it can’t be (and needs to be) done much better. Using cutting-edge international research, Alan seeks to inform debate by first building a picture of migration across the world, then assessing the issue from both the migrant and receiving countries’ perspective. Alan then assesses options for policy design, pushing for decisions to be made even where there are difficult trade-offs. The Resolution Foundation is hosting an in-person and interactive webinar to debate and answer the questions posed by Alan’s latest book. He will be joined by Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice to navigate key questions on the effect of immigration on people’s lives, and how this should impact the setting of policy. The event will be open for people to physically attend, with refreshments before the event from 4.30pm, alongside being broadcast via YouTube and the Resolution Foundation website. Viewers will be able to submit questions to the panel before and during the event via Slido.
