Today, Theresa May’s frankly terrifying proposal to send international students packing the moment they graduate has been shot down by the Tories. And the opposition was led by George Osborne! Not David ‘Call Me Dave’ Cameron or Nick ‘I Want Students To Love Me Again After What I Did’ Clegg! Excuse us while we have a sit down.
It all kicked off when Theresa suggested the government look into the idea proposed in the Conservative Party’s general election manifesto back in 2010 – and George Osborne (OF ALL PEOPLE) led the team that eventually blocked it. It would require international students studying in the UK to apply for a visa from their home country upon graduating. A senior Tory official told The Guardian, ‘We have a policy that international students can stay when they graduate if they find a graduate-level job paying £24,000 a year. That remains the policy.’
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, David Willetts (the former universities minister of the Tory party) said that international students should stay in the country, because it’s of huge benefit. See? You’re useful to us. Don’t leave. ‘Attracting overseas students to study in Britain is one of the great British successes,’ he said. ‘We make friends around the world and we make a lot of money from them.’
One person who probably isn’t very happy about this is Theresa May, who is widely thought to be in competition with George Osborne for the position of Conservative Party leader. Ah, so that’s why he blocked it – not because of morals and ethics and caring about the student population... but because he wants to be the next Prime Minister. Just in case you were starting to warm to him.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.