It was rated as one of the most “accurate, up-to-date and more useful” data previously published on the benefits international students provide to the country, with all 650 constituencies assessed.
The constituencies that stand to benefit most economically, receiving £578m from international players, are Leeds Central and Headingley. With 5,585 international students participating in the first year, the net impact will be £523m, with each population living £4,930 better off.
About five universities are located in Leeds, including the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett, which may explain the scale of the economic benefit to international students.
Also in the top 10 are Holborn and St Pancras, parliamentary seats that Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer is campaigning to retain in the July 4 general election.
Members benefit from £438m from international students, with a net impact of £383m after accounting for costs.
The only constituencies in England not in the top 10 are Belfast South and Mid Down, home to Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University, with an economic benefit of £486m and a net impact of £422m.
Linda Cowan, managing director of Kaplan International Pathways, who conducted the research with HEPI and London Economics, repeatedly emphasized the importance of data and signaling surrounding international students.
“With increasing competition for international students from countries with some of the world’s best educational institutions, it is more important than ever to send a consistent and clear welcoming message to international students,” she said.
HEPI director Nick Hillman said the numbers were surprising.
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“A small number of individual constituencies each year bring in more than half a billion pounds from each new group of international students. At the other end of the scale there are around 100 constituencies where the value of international students is less than £10 million,” he pointed out.
At the bottom of the table is North Norfolk, with a net impact of just £2m.
But just outside the bottom 10 is Claxon. British reform leader Nigel Farage is on a mission to dramatically reduce net immigration in his bid to win a seventh parliamentary seat.
The benefit of international students per constituency in Clacton is just £40, with a net impact of £4m.
Hillman said the information would be shared directly with election candidates from all political parties across the country “so they can see the benefits” and, more importantly, “the opportunities for their districts.”
We hope that the next government and all newly elected members in every constituency will pay close attention to these findings.
James Cannings (London Economics)
Incumbent Chancellor Rishi Sunak is fighting to retain his seat in another constituency where the economic benefits from international students are significantly lower. The total benefit is £8m and the net impact is £7m.
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has 91 seats.castle Kingston and Surbiton recorded a total economic benefit of £146 million and a net impact of £127 million.
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“We hope that the next Government and all newly elected Members of Parliament in every constituency will pay close attention to these results to ensure the growth of the UK economy as well as the financial sustainability of the higher education sector. Overall,” said James Cannings, senior economic consultant and London Economics.
HEPI noted that this is the most complex data set at the constituency level and that past publications have “limitations”, including “using every student's location as a proxy for where international students live.”
“The new data being released now is based on the number of full-time, non-England students aged 18 or over in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in each region, as recorded in the 2021 Census, which reflects the revised constituencies. Vigilance,” HEPI noted.
“By using updated and more granular census data than ever before and applying it to new Westminster parliamentary constituencies, this important analysis provides the most accurate picture of the net economic impact of international students,” Cowan said.
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