¡°Positive and inspiring¡± language can make the case for why the UK needs more skilled researchers from abroad, with voters viewing anything that paints Britain as ¡°weak¡± with scepticism, a report has found.?

As the Reform Party continues to do well in opinion polls?and the Labour?government promises to crack down on immigration, the paper tested what impact different political messaging concerning researcher immigration had on different voters from across the political spectrum.

The survey of 2,079 UK adults, carried out by the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE), finds that overall voters were often supportive of academics being?allowed in to the UK, but noted that the messaging surrounding policies could significantly impact how voters perceived them.

Respondents were asked whether they found certain political messaging convincing or unconvincing in creating strong arguments for immigration in R&D sectors.

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The best-performing messages pointed to specific R&D innovations rather than ¡°using nebulous phrases such as ¡®fixing problems¡¯¡±, evoked a sense of optimism for the future, highlighted Britain¡¯s past achievements, acknowledged the importance of home-grown talent and triggered ¡°loss aversion¡±.

The research found that ¡°from antibiotics to the internet, global researchers helped Britain innovate ¨C let¡¯s do it again¡± was the most effective statement among respondents.

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Overall, some 83 per cent of Conservative voters responded positively to this statement, as did 91 per cent of Labour/Green/Liberal Democrat voters, 69 per cent of Reform voters, and 73 per cent of people who did not plan to vote.

The other most popular statements included ¡°attracting the world¡¯s best researchers will help Britain build the industries of tomorrow¡± and ¡°our local scientists deserve world-class teammates ¨C let¡¯s bring them in¡±.

Comparatively, the least effective statement was ¡°the best researchers in the world want to work with us to fix Britain¡±, which was approved by 54 per cent of Conservative voters, 51 per cent of Labour/Green/Liberal Democrats, 43 per cent of Reform voters, and just 38 per cent of non-voters.

The paper argues this was ¡°potentially due to it casting the country as weak, passive and reliant on help¡±.

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Multimedia campaigns where immigrants were presented as superheroes were also unpopular with respondents, with the paper saying that the image of ¡°Britain needing to be saved didn¡¯t land well¡± and was ¡°patronising¡± for voters.?At the same time, it found that messages about restoring national pride and fixing ¡°broken Britain¡±?could be effective.

It recommends that messaging should use ¡°inspiring¡± and ¡°positive¡± language, be clear that the aim is to attract the ¡°best¡± overseas talent, and avoid implying that Britain is or should be reliant on immigration.

Rebecca Hill, public opinion and engagement manager at CaSE, said the ¡°immigration debate is loud and wide-ranging¡±, and the R&D sector needs to be ¡°conscious of where it fits within this conversation¡±.?

¡°Despite evidence showing the benefits of skilled immigration for the UK, and evidence of public support for researcher immigration, the R&D sector¡¯s messages have historically struggled to cut through,¡± she said.

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Hill added that the research gives ¡°vital insight¡± into how the R&D community can have ¡°a better conversation with the public¡±.?

¡°It has demonstrated the value in listening to the public¡¯s views and concerns, and has allowed us to offer the R&D sector ideas for more emotionally resonant ways to talk about immigration into the R&D system. We hope it will help the R&D community shift the debate towards tangible examples of the positive difference that researcher immigration makes to our communities.¡±

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com