The Isle of Man Business Network hosted a public debate on immigration. I argued against proposals from Bill Shimmin MHK and the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce to immediately lift “all restrictions on immigration and employment” in the Isle of Man:
Michael Josem, who referred to the proposer’s view as a ’free for all’, tabled the concept of a merit-based system and argued that a controlled and measured way forward would benefit the Isle of Man economically, environmentally and socially, ensuring service continuity and the high living standards residents are accustomed to for healthcare, education, infrastructure, transport and amenities.
Migrants would be selected based on merit or humanitarian grounds, with tight controls on who comes into the country and the circumstances under which they relocate, thereby ensuring we maintain an economy based on high skills, staff and productivity, and maintain social equilibrium and a fair welfare system.
Looking inward, Michael highlighted Isle of Man birth rate statistics and reinforced the point we need to revisit child benefit, increasing support for education and growing the population domestically.
Lively debate on immigration
31 December 2023 Update: Corrected the grammar of the opening paragraph by removing the repeated word “proposals”
