After the flood

ASPIRING economic migrants to Britain must be scratching their heads. Only a few months ago, government and opposition politicians were queuing up to denounce what some described as the “flood” of “bogus” asylum-seekers arriving in Britain. Many, they said, were merely economic migrants in disguise, intent on lucrative careers as scroungers and squeegee merchants. Yet on September 11th, in what seems like a perplexing re-think, a government minister will make a speech extolling the benefits to Britain of economic migration, historically and in the future. Last week a scheme began under which foreign entrepreneurs can move to Britain with nothing to declare but a good business plan—previously they had to bring £200,000 ($290,000) with them.