Philippe Legrain

Boris Johnson won the December 2019 UK general election on the promise that he had an “oven-ready deal” to “get Brexit done.” But while the UK did leave the EU in January 2020, Johnson’s deal included a deeply contentious protocol governing the special trade status of Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s successful negotiation […]

Read my latest piece for Foreign Policy

My piece for the Evening Standard

Britain’s immigration system isn’t fit for purpose. Its political targets are perverse. Its guiding philosophy is reminiscent of Soviet-style central planning. The resulting rules are unworkably complex. Their administration by the Home Office mixes incompetence with malice. The upshot is heavy-handed controls that still leave voters feeling that things are out of control. That’s bad […]

I posted the following thread on Twitter earlier. While some voted Labour cos they wanted Corbyn to win, many did so cos they thought he couldn’t. Doubt he cd win election except by accident 2. Clearly, some in UK r hard left. Many r fed up with austerity. Corbyn mobilised students & some who feel left […]

“It’s a pity that Theresa May has a chance to re-think immigration policy and she is falling back on a tried and tested failure,” I said, on Theresa May’s decision to keep the UK’s absurd net migration target, which she repeatedly missed during her six years as Home Secretary. Read the piece here.

Theresa May is likely to win the UK’s snap election on 8 June. A big parliamentary majority and not having to face voters again until 2022 could give her more flexibility in negotiating and implementing Brexit. But contrary to what she claims, that wouldn’t strengthen her negotiating position vis-a-vis the EU; if anything, it would […]

I have evidence to the House of Lords’ Economic Affairs committee on what a post-Brexit immigration system should look like. Watch it here. My testimony was quoted in The Sun and the Express. The BBC posted a clip of me explaining why immigration tends to boost GDP per capita.

My column for CapX

Conservative Brexiteers – who campaigned for the United Kingdom to vote to leave the European Union – continue to blather about building an open, outward-looking, free-trading Britain. But the UK is in fact turning inward. Prime Minister Theresa May, who styles herself as the UK’s answer to Angela Merkel, is turning out to have more […]

More topical than ever, my debate with Ed West for Bright Blue’s magazine, Centre Write.

In CityAM Mark Sands quoted me in a piece on the impact of migrants on housing and public services on 1 June. Fellow economist Philippe Legrain, who supports liberal migration rules, slammed Fox’s comments. “This is more than dog whistle politics, it’s just demonising migrants for the failings of the British economy and the British […]

and it is both disingenuous and wrong-headed of Boris Johnson and his fellow Brexiteers to argue that if only Britain left the EU, the government would be free to pursue a failed 1970s-style industrial policy to prop up unprofitable businesses such as Tata Steel’s. My article for CapX

My column for CapX

In an excellent piece on why Britain ought to accept more refugees, Jonathan Portes writes: As Philippe Legrain from LSE’s European Institute points out in his forthcoming paper on this topic, welcoming refugees is not only a humanitarian and legal obligation: it is an investment that can yield substantial economic dividends.

My column for CapX

My column for CapX

One consequence of the Paris attacks is that Britain’s renegotiation of its EU membership has been delayed. With the risks of Brexit rising by the day, David Cameron’s priority should be to complete the renegotiation as quickly as possible, declare victory, and start campaigning vigorously on the broader reasons why Britain should stay in the […]

Mon interview avec atlantico.fr

My column for Foreign Policy argues that British exit from the EU is much more likely than people think