Ed Davey has urged Keir Starmer to create a new visa route so that Americans seeking to flee the Trump presidency.
The Lib Dem leader said it should target wealthy Americans so they can “bring their money and their skills” to the UK.
UK immigration lawyers said earlier this week that they have received a spike in inquiries from “mobile, wealthy individuals in tech, law, and the arts” who are “worried about socially conservative policies that Trump could introduce once in office” so they are wanting to move to other countries, such as Britain.
In PMQs, he asked: “An idea for the chancellor to grow the economy: as President-elect Trump prepares to take office next week, there are reports that a number of wealthy, highly-skilled Americans are looking to come to the UK for fear of what President-elect Trump will do to their country.
“But because the Conservatives so broke the immigration system, many of them are finding there is no visa that they can apply for.
“Now I know the Prime Minister is rightly seeking to reduce immigration from the record highs of the Conservatives, but does he agree: if people like this want to come to our country, to bring their money and their skills, so we can grow our economy and pay for our public services, they should be able to?”
What constitutes rich here? Asking for a friend
There’s different numbers from different places, depending on if they’re just looking at full time only or including part time, employees or all incomes, and if they’re looking at individuals or households.
(All numbers below are approximate)
From a vague mish-mash of sources, in the UK, an individual income of about £80,000 (about £55,000 after Tax & National Insurance) puts you in the “top 5%” of earners. 95% of the country earns less than you. That may meet many people’s definition of rich.
About £100,000 per year is “top 2%” and it’s about £160,000 to be “top 1%” (those “one percenters” we used to talk about).
Where you consider “rich” to start is a matter of personal preference.
Many people use personal measures like “twice what I earn is rich”, regardless of how much they earn, so for example, an average person in the UK with an income of about £30,000 (~top 50%), may feel a £60,000 (top 7%) earner is “a rich, la-de-dah bastard”, whereas the £60,000 earner feels like they are “just about managing”, but feels that someone on £120,000 is “a poncey rich twat”.
I wonder though if Davey is thinking more of the “1% of the 1%” millionaires etc.
The piece says:
So anyone doing well in those industries.
Poncey, rich twats, in other words.
I live well below my means over here, so that I can afford to travel. Compared to the US, the number of low-cost travel destinations here is amazing. And because I’m living in a house similar to everyone else’s, the resentment towards me as a “rich Yank” is much less. They dislke flashy people here (I’m not in London, it’s different there), but are quite warm as long as you don’t act like an entitled knobhead.
To be honest, that’s probably how most Brits are unless you land in a very small and remote village where it can get a bit… Slaughtered Lamb.