SELF-DETERMINATION IS NOT RACISM:

Far from ushering in a clampdown on immigration, Home Office immigration figures for 2021 showed that Brexit Britain issued a total of 239,987 work-related visas - 25% higher than the figure for 2019. What was particularly noteworthy was the sharp uptick in successful applications from non-EU migrants. Indeed, since the end of free movement only 10% of last year's work-related visas were issued to EU nationals. The number of foreign students has also sharply increased, hitting a record high of 416,000 - up by more than a half compared with 2019.

While his predecessor Theresa May's preference was to both significantly reduce EU migration and place strict limits on non-EU migration, Johnson appears remarkably relaxed over the latter - curiously for a politician often described by his opponents as some kind of tub-thumping nativist. 

And while Home Secretary Priti Patel has come under fire from various quarters over the Rwanda asylum plan, she reacted to the latest figures by saying that 'immigration has enriched our nation through the ages and continues to do so' and that people from the world over are 'contributing to our country in many ways across our economy, society and culture'. 

The relatively liberal attitude towards non-EU migration is a fundamental pillar of the UK's post-Brexit internationalist identity - fostered by a New York-born prime minister who represents a Leave-voting, ethnically diverse seat in west London. 

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