CPC was delighted that Professor Jonathan Portes gave the January Seminar.
Jonathan started his career at HM Treasury in 1987, and spent most of his career as a civil servant, serving as Chief Economist at the Department for Work and Pensions from 2002 to 2008 and Chief Economist at the Cabinet Office from 2008 to 2011. He led the Cabinet Office’s economic analysis and economic policy work during the financial crisis and on the G20 London Summit in April 2009. From 2011 to 2015, he was Director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
Professor S Mark Spearing, Vice President (Research and Enterprise) opened the event, welcoming our visitors and introducing Jonathan.
Jonathan's talk discussed how the growth in immigration from the rest of the EU to the UK was a central issue in the referendum. Reflecting on how we got here and what we know about the impacts of immigration on the UK economy and labour market, Jonathan discussed what might happen after Brexit to the over 3 million EU27 citizens who now live in the UK (and more than a million Brits elsewhere in the EU). Drawing on his extensive experience he put forward how UK immigration policy, both towards EU citizens and those from outside the EU, is likely to change after Brexit.