Not sure it’s analogous to other services exports as students are resident with costs of providing public infrastructure as OBR recognises that unis don’t pay. Can debate whether levy too high or low but closer perhaps to hotel tourist tax which is meant to cover public costs associated with stay.

Isn’t it arguable that it was the liberalisations of the Tories under Boris (later partially reversed) that contributed to their destruction.

Yes. When employers struggling to recruit they will often look to immigration to solve problem as they don’t like raising wages. Challenge for migration policy is to make sure there is some pressure to raise wages but not so much pressure they can’t cope

Sometimes nominal - think of P&O on Dover-Calais ferries - but probably more common to be real. Pressure on employers to raise wages is reduced if easy access to new workers even if they don’t cut nominal.

Errr I think this piece is over-simplified. A better framing is immigration can be used to reduce wages but doesn’t have to. And perhaps our immigration policy should make sure it doesn’t.