Blog: Interning at MPS: Experience, Learning, and What I’m Taking Home
By Shayan Gul, MPS Diversity in Policymaking Intern March 2026 I came to this internship as someone who cared about migration — personally, politically, and academically. Growing up in Pakistan, home to one of the largest refugee populations in the world, migration was never an abstract concept. The quiet understanding that for many people, movement […]
Blog: What My Internship at Migration Policy Scotland Meant to Me
By Jomana Abunahla, MPS Diversity in Policymaking Intern March 2026 As a masters student of Global Migration and Social Justice, I was already used to thinking about migration through theory, critique, and academic debate. What MPS gave me was the chance to see how those ideas are translated into everyday policy work through research, communications, […]
Better Mixing: Looking ahead to Scotland’s future
January 2026 MPS is pleased to announce the launch of its Better Mixing project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation’s Racial Diversity UK programme. Scotland’s population is changing fast and in ways which bring new experiences of racial diversity nationally and locally. Changing patterns of immigration are bringing people to many different parts of Scotland for […]
MPS Attitudes to Immigration Survey: Topline Results 2025
This page presents the topline findings from MPS’s 2025 survey on attitudes to immigration in Scotland. The survey offers an up-to-date picture of how people in Scotland view immigration. It also builds on our earlier 2023 report Attitudes to Immigration: A View from Scotland. Fieldwork took place from 4–10 February 2025. Diffley Partnership carried it […]
All Hands On Deck -Working collaboratively to tackle poverty in migrant households
Poverty in migrant households remains a significant and persistent issue across the UK. Evidence consistently shows that migrants are more likely to experience poverty than people who are UK-born. This reflects a combination of structural barriers, including insecure employment, high housing costs, restricted access to welfare support, and the impacts of immigration policy. This blog, […]
The poverty premium and the migrant community
The migrant poverty premium refers to the additional and often hidden costs that migrant households face when accessing essential goods and services. These costs can include higher housing expenses, limited access to affordable credit, higher energy bills, and barriers to secure employment. As a result, migrant households are often required to pay more to meet […]
Perspectives: Open the Door – Working together to address financial disadvantage in migrant households
Poverty migration migrants Scotland financial disadvantage is at the centre of Open the Door, a blog reflecting on partnership working to address financial hardship in migrant households. In this blog, our core team of peer researchers from Migration Policy Scotland (MPS) and partner organisations reflect on co-delivery, shared learning, and research for change. By Leri […]
Perspectives: Enhancing Labour Market Access for Ukrainian Refugees in Scotland
Blog by Eunuk Kim, MSc Education for Sustainable Futures in Adult, Community & Youth Contexts (University of Glasgow) While doing my collaborative dissertation with MPS, I learned how theoretical knowledge could solve real-world problems. From the start of my master’s program, I hoped to make a positive impact beyond academia, and collaborating with Migration Policy […]
Perspectives: New Data on Attitudes to Immigration in Scotland: What Does Scotland Really Think?
Blogpost by Saskia Smellie, BRIDGES Project, University of Edinburgh It is often observed that Scotland is an outlier in the UK in terms of the politics of migration, with the Scottish public generally perceived as more welcoming of migrants than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. In a blog for the Royal Society of Edinburgh […]
Perspectives: Complementary Pathways in Scotland
Blog by Sarah Kyambi, Migration Policy Scotland It is surprising in light of the draconian approach to small boat crossings and asylum generally to realise that at the same time the UK’s immigration system has evolved to open up ‘complementary pathways’.