Migrants, please don’t go home

May’s open letter to people from other EU countries living in the UK undermines the case for Brexit

Why did people vote for Brexit again? At the time, there seemed to be a lot of fuss about people from mainland Europe coming to live in Britain, quite a bit of talk about “taking back control” and the idea of saving £350 million a week was definitely mentioned.

The latter claim was punctured fairly quickly and Brexiteers tend not to talk about it so much anymore. Then last week’s supposedly breakthrough deal seemed to suggest the UK would abide by many of the EU’S trade rules, despite having no say in deciding what they are.

The latest news – that the Prime Minister is appealing to more than three million citizens of other EU countries to stay in Britain after Brexit – rather undermines the third main plank of the case for Brexit. The Remain campaign did try to make the case that the presence of EU citizens in the UK was crucial for the NHS, scientific research in our world-leading universities, fruit farms, and the economy generally.

But that message somehow got lost behind Nigel Farage’s infamous “Breaking Point” billboard, which showed a queue of people in Croatia – many of whom were refugees fleeing Syria’s brutal civil war – who hoped to get into Solvenia. Ms May’s open letter tells how EU citizens have been “enriching every part of our economy, our society, our culture and our national life”. She tells them she is fully aware that “our country would be poorer if you left”.

But, with Ms May now fully signed up to the “Brexit means Brexit” camp, she would presumably tell a different audience that she will ensure the UK regains control of its borders and is able to prevent more of these wonderful people from coming to our shores.

While net immigration can serve as a handy scapegoat for society’s ills, the truth is it is most likely to give a shot in the arm to any economy. Migrants tend to be, almost by definition, people with a considerable amount of get-up-and-go.

The thing that the Prime Minister, quite rightly, seems to be trying to forestall is significant emigration from Brexit Britain – what we used to call “brain drain”.

Given the UK has decided to put up borders – even some apparently “frictionless” ones – between itself and their home countries, many citizens of other parts of the EU may decide it’s best to head home or at least somewhere with a more welcoming atmosphere. And, when they are gone, we will miss them.