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Who do we think we are?Author: Professor Michaela Benson
From Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, to the Windrush deportation scandal citizenship and the responsibilities of the UK government to the people of Hong Kong, it seems that citizenship and migration in Britain are never far from the headlines. Who do we think we are? explores all of this and more. Join Professor Michaela Benson and her guests as they debunk taken-for-granted understandings of who is a citizen and who is a migrant in Britain today. Language: en Genres: Education, Science, Social Sciences Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
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S3 E11 Labour’s new immigration plan is anything but Brexit
Episode 11
Friday, 23 May, 2025
Michaela and Nando get together to discuss the UK’s Labour Government 2025 promise to restore control over immigration by reducing net migration. The resonance with Brexit rhetoric couldn’t be clearer in the language and narrative surrounding this. Yet, Brexit remains the elephant in the room. They reflect on several key elements of the paper: health and social care visas, shifts in qualification levels and income requirements, student visas and e-visas. As their conversation highlights, the new immigration plan embeds further the criminalisation of certain migrants—and seeks new ways to do so—while offering no reflection on the absence of safe routes. From the announcements that surrounded the paper to the plans for reforming who can come to the UK and on what terms, what they reveal is the continuing significance of the far right anti-immigration politics in shaping the migration regime in Britain today. You can access the full transcripts for each episode over on our website Who do we think we are? In this episode we cover … 1 2025 White Paper ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’ 2 Brexit and migration 3 Net migration Seminar questions 1. What does the term ‘island of strangers’ signal to you? 2. What are some of the main changes that the Labour Government are planning to make to the immigration system? 3. Why might it be important that we think about Brexit when considering migration to the UK in 2025? Find out more about … The immigration white paper Listen to .. Us talking on The Conversation’s podcast about how EU leaders want to copy the Rwanda Plan Our episode with Migrant Rights’ Network’s Fizza Qureshi on ‘safe routes’ and the Rwanda Plan Nando’s podcast Mobility, Work and Rights Call to action Follow the podcast on all major podcasting platforms or through our RSS Feed. To find out more about Who do we think we are? On our website, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.