November 11, 2021 - 7:00am
As previously noted on UnHerd, the New York Times does love a pop at Britain — and Brexit in particular. For instance, from earlier this year, we have this apocalyptic report, which helped spread the “plague island” label. Cheers for that.
The newspaper’s latest dispatch from the Brexit battle-lines is a feature on the British entrepreneurs setting-up business in Estonia.
There’s some interesting tidbits in there about how this innovative Baltic state — already famous for its e-governance and e-voting — is now using e-residency to attract foreign investment. However, the focus on British business people provides yet another chance to catastrophise Brexit.
Admittedly, the UK’s departure has led to many British businesses registering in EU countries to get round new regulatory hurdles. For some of them Estonian e-residency certainly is an attractive option. But does this really amount to a “brain drain” as the NYT suggests?
For a start it worth pointing out that the worst fears about Brexit have not come to pass. The UK financial sector, for instance, has not decamped en masse for Paris or Frankfurt. Though net migration from the EU to the UK fell following the referendum result and before Covid, it was still positive.
Is Estonia an exception? It’s hard to establish definitive figures, but there are something like 15,000 Estonians living in the UK and less than a thousand Brits living in Estonia. Of course, the online nature of the e-residency scheme means that you don’t physically have to move. But, if British companies are making good use of that, what’s the problem? I wouldn’t describe British entrepreneurs doing business with Europe from Britain as a loss to this country.
By coincidence, the idea of a British brain drain has been reinforced by a chart that’s been doing the rounds on Twitter this week:
https://twitter.com/valaafshar/status/1448324464555532289?s=21
It shows the number of highly educated migrants to OECD countries by country of birth. Britain comes fourth the global rankings, behind only India, China and the Philippines. So is this the evidence we’re looking for?
Again, it’s certainly not proof of a Brexit brain drain — because these OECD figures (the latest available) date back to 2015/16. A likelier explanation is that this is a language effect — in particular, the result of the UK’s close links with other English-speaking nations.
Of course, the Covid pandemic has disrupted migration patterns around the world. So it’s hard to say where we’ll be once the dust settles. What we can be certain about is that migration from the UK to the EU will either be up or down. If it’s up, then it will be portrayed as a brain drain. If it’s down, then it will be lamented as a loss of opportunity for British workers. Either way, Brexit will be blamed.
Peter Franklin is Associate Editor of UnHerd. He was previously a policy advisor and speechwriter on environmental and social issues.
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SubscribeHow swiftly a leopard can change its spots when it suits. Eddie must want a seat really badly. He’s obviously realised he’s out of step with the party’s current thinking. While many if us a happy that the Labour Party is recognising that we are biologically different to men, the prospect of izzard as an MP is not an attractive one, regardless of his dresdful dress sense.
How swiftly a leopard can change its spots when it suits. Eddie must want a seat really badly. He’s obviously realised he’s out of step with the party’s current thinking. While many if us a happy that the Labour Party is recognising that we are biologically different to men, the prospect of izzard as an MP is not an attractive one, regardless of his dresdful dress sense.
Eddie Izzard can call himself Suzy to his heart’s content. The practice could become as traditional as women named Michael, from Miss Michael Learned to Princess Michael of Kent. Izzard used to say that, “They are not women’s clothes, they are my clothes, I bought them.” Who could have argued with that? Yet now he calls himself “she”. He does not do so as a harmless quirk. To be polite or compassionate, some of us might have indulged that. Male transvestism is one of the most venerable of British eccentricities. But Izzard is using feminine pronouns as a pretext for accessing women’s single-sex facilities. Therefore, and however regretfully, we do have to insist against it.The case of Wayne Couzens has put indecent exposure in the news. Well, neither in Iran, nor even in Afghanistan, would a mother who took her small daughter into the women’s showers or changing rooms be confronted, at the little girl’s eye level, with postpubescent male genitalia. That may not be the worst form of sexual assault, but it is a form. As is being made to imagine other people’s genitals, a mental image that transgender activists insist on inflicting upon the rest of us. All of this was inconceivable in 2010. It has happened entirely under the people who allow the unwitting to imagine that they are against it. Although, to give them their due, they never quite claim that they are.
Eddie Izzard can call himself Suzy to his heart’s content. The practice could become as traditional as women named Michael, from Miss Michael Learned to Princess Michael of Kent. Izzard used to say that, “They are not women’s clothes, they are my clothes, I bought them.” Who could have argued with that? Yet now he calls himself “she”. He does not do so as a harmless quirk. To be polite or compassionate, some of us might have indulged that. Male transvestism is one of the most venerable of British eccentricities. But Izzard is using feminine pronouns as a pretext for accessing women’s single-sex facilities. Therefore, and however regretfully, we do have to insist against it.The case of Wayne Couzens has put indecent exposure in the news. Well, neither in Iran, nor even in Afghanistan, would a mother who took her small daughter into the women’s showers or changing rooms be confronted, at the little girl’s eye level, with postpubescent male genitalia. That may not be the worst form of sexual assault, but it is a form. As is being made to imagine other people’s genitals, a mental image that transgender activists insist on inflicting upon the rest of us. All of this was inconceivable in 2010. It has happened entirely under the people who allow the unwitting to imagine that they are against it. Although, to give them their due, they never quite claim that they are.
My own hunch is that Eddie will be successful in his bid to become an MP. Could she become Labour’s first woman Prime Minister?
Why not of course Keir Starmer sees no reason he couldn’t be Labour’s first woman Prime Minister.
I presume that you are joking. Eddie may become an MP but he will always be a He and therefore, a man.
Why not of course Keir Starmer sees no reason he couldn’t be Labour’s first woman Prime Minister.
I presume that you are joking. Eddie may become an MP but he will always be a He and therefore, a man.
My own hunch is that Eddie will be successful in his bid to become an MP. Could she become Labour’s first woman Prime Minister?
Eddie is a remarkable person, honest and transparent. His endeavors on his running we truly inspirational, he is rationale, and I think doesn’t have extreme views. A good person.
Hi Eddie!
Hi Eddie!
Eddie is a remarkable person, honest and transparent. His endeavors on his running we truly inspirational, he is rationale, and I think doesn’t have extreme views. A good person.