I was abroad for a couple of days last week as an “expert adviser” (what a humbling term) to a major management consultancy pitching for a large contract. Seven of us attended the presentation: two Brits (the other one permanently resident abroad), two Germans, an Indian, a Pakistani and a Saudi. It was exhilarating to be with such an impressive team and to see the value of the wide range of experience that we brought to bear on our client’s project.
 
Catching up when I got back, I read the latest step in the continuing story of firms trying to find ways round the Government’s restrictions on recruiting overseas talent: PM reported that more and more employers are turning to other EU countries for the highly-talented people they need for their business in their frustration at the restrictions on non-EU recruits.

Call it the ‘law of unintended consequences’ perhaps. As Nick Clegg pointed out during last year’s election debates, the Government has next to no scope for limiting immigration from within the EU.

In fact, I think it’s evidence of something even more powerful than the law of unintended consequences: the law of supply and demand.

The best knowledge-based economies need the most talented people. This is not about those whom Gordon Brown sought to appease with his infamous comments on “British jobs for British workers”. In a multi-layered labour market, the topmost end is a world market, and Britain will gain far more than it loses from playing its full part in that arena.

It’s clearly right that our visa system keeps up the pressure in other parts of the market so that businesses are encouraged to train, but it should also support excellence at the top end.