Academics to be quizzed on settlement, citizenship and integration

Academics to be quizzed on settlement, citizenship and integration 

Tomorrow the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee will be holding two evidence sessions with world-leading experts, as it continues its inquiry into settlement, citizenship and integration.  

The sessions will take place on Tuesday 9 December 2025 and can be followed live on Parliament TV. 

Giving evidence at 10:30am will be: 

• Professor Elspeth Guild, Global Chair in Social Justice, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool 

Possible questions include: 

• What is the purpose of the UK's immigration and nationality laws? What is the purpose of EU immigration and free movement law?  

• What constraints are placed on UK migration and citizenship policy by international law?  

• How are the terms ‘migrant', ‘alien', and ‘citizen' legally defined both domestically and internationally?  

• To what extent do more restrictive settlement, immigration, and citizenship rules prevent people moving across borders?  

• Is the push-pull theory of migration correct? What other factors explain migration? 

Giving evidence at 11:30am will be: 

• Professor Randall Hansen, Canada Research Chair in Global Migration, University of Toronto 

Possible questions include: 

• In historical context, what is the distinction between nationality law and immigration policy; and what have been the key legislative milestones in the UK since 1948?   

• What are the wider demographic and geopolitical trends that have affected immigration to Western countries in recent decades, and which external factors (War, demographic, or economic) are most likely to shape immigration in the coming decades?  

• How are discussions around migrants politicised? Does policy drive rhetoric or does rhetoric drive policy?  

• Are the concepts of earned settlement and earned citizenship consistent with historical British policy?  

• To what extent is there an “inclusionary tradition” of British citizenship overshadowed by exclusionary policy—in other words, is the public more welcoming than Government policy suggests? Does the UK have an ‘integration problem'?