From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome. But give me only your expertise, not your huddled mas

Immigration controls should be based on need, not on elitism. A developed nation like the UK should grow its own skills, not focus on the need to import them.

To grow a ‘knowledge economy’ you need to educate your own people to compete with the best in the world. That is where the emphasis should be.

Immigrants should be welcome to fulfil other tasks, particularly where there is full employment in a host nation like the UK. Where the need exists for surgeons or strawberry-pickers, immigrants should be welcome.

The UK, the US or any other developed economy will not maintain its place in the world unless it moves on from twentieth century industries and occupations.

In the UK over 693,000 people were employed in the coal industry in the 1950s, now there are less than 10,000. 675,000 people are employed in software and computing services in the UK today. There were just a handful in 1950!

Sustained economic growth in developed economies also allows for improved social services and health care. According to PwC, manufacturing now accounts for less than 10% of UK jobs

and there is little prospect of this reversing, while health and education and business services have been the biggest growth areas since the late 1970s.

Technology and services will spur new industries and new talents so long as governments and educational institutions can nurture talent to invent the future and shrug off the past.

Attempting artificially to sustain uncompetitive industries will drag everyone down to third world levels whilst preventing the third world from improving their economies. Globalism raises all boats on the tide of economic development including already developed economies, so long as they continue to make the pace.

Political correctness demands that no comment should be made about the origins, ethnicity or religious belief of an immigrant. Having said this, there is no doubt that concerns about the impact of immigration on our native culture and behaviour have driven opinion in the UK. In this regard, it is worth noting that European culture most closely matches that of the UK.

In denying preferred freedom of movement to EU citizens, the UK opens its doors equally to global migration regardless of origin, for good or ill. But demanding only skilled migrants not only denies the country of origin of its best talent but will not serve our growing social services nor encourage home-grown innovation and new talent.