The company reported that on the day of the UK’s general election, July 4, the UK’s universities on the platform had a 15.6% share in global interest from prospective students.
On July 5, when it had been confirmed that the Labour party – distinctly less anti-immigration that the ruling Conservative party – had clinched victory at the polls, that had surged to 19%.
“The Labour manifesto was light on detail but a move away from a government which has been viewed as largely anti-immigration is a plus for prospective international students both in market and in the UK,” said Mark Ovens, senior partnerships director for the UK and Ireland at Studyportals, speaking with The PIE.
“A change of government to the centre-left, brings with it a sense of optimism in this area. This is despite a lack of clarity or meaningful commitments from the Labour party in the lead up to the general election,” noted Ovens.
Labour, who won a decisive majority of seats in the UK Parliament, has not referred specifically to any changes regarding international student policy, including the Graduate Route or the ban on of Master’s taught students’ dependants.
While the surge definitely indicated some immediate reaction, Ovens noted that the policies from the Conservative administration “have still influenced decision making” and it may take some more time for the market to settle, after confidence was “eroded by the previous government”.
“We understand that the incoming government plan to take an evidence based approach and the sector will need to be able to provide better evidence, and better data to ensure that the early optimism around improved clarity and opportunity for international students is founded,” Ovens explained.
On a country-specific level, notable rises in interest for the UK were also seen in Italy, Pakistan, the US, Türkiye, and Indonesia.
A change of government to the centre-left, brings with it a sense of optimism in this area
Mark Ovens, Studyportals
“The biggest increase in demand from the top 10 source countries in terms of demand for the UK came from the US, with a 128% increase when comparing the July 4-8. This appears to be unaffected by the Fourth of July holiday,” Ovens added.
Such “outlier markets” have seen year-on-year rises as well, Ovens noted, with pageviews for UK universities “from the US are up over 15% year-on-year” – showing demand isn’t just surging because of the UK’s visit to the ballot box.
India, one of two of the UK’s biggest sending markets, saw relative demand from India stabilise recently – but post-election, a “noticeable bump in absolute demand” was very much visible, with a 46% increase comparing July 4 to July 8.
“In June 2023, we experienced a surge in demand through Summer into September 2023 from India to the UK, and then a comparable decline in Q4 and throughout H2 2024.
“It’s still very early to make conclusive comment on the trends post-election,” he warned.
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