Brexit-supporting The next boss asserts that the UK requires

By Maggie Last updated Nov 10, 2022

Brexit-supporting The next boss asserts that the UK requires more foreign labor. To help with the labor shortfall, the CEO of the store Next is pleading with the government to allow more foreign employees into the UK.

Brexit supporter Lord Wolfson claimed that the UK’s existing immigration policy was stifling economic progress. In order to encourage businesses to hire people from the UK first, he argued they should charge a tax for hiring foreign workers.

The administration said that it had fulfilled its pledge to “regain control of our immigration system.” “Unemployment is at record lows and it’s crucial we continue to bring in excellent key workers the UK needs,” a government spokesperson said. “This includes thousands of NHS doctors and nurses through the Health and Care Visa and the Seasonal Workers scheme, which brings in the workforce our farmers and growers need.”

Free trade?

Conservative peer Lord Wolfson told the BBC that there are people waiting to enter the nation to pick crops that are decaying in fields and work in warehouses that otherwise wouldn’t be functional. Additionally, we need to approach economic productive migration differently.

The government, he argued, needed to determine whether the UK was an open, free-trading country or whether it wanted to become “Fortress Britain” after Brexit, closing the gate to foreign labor at a huge cost to the economy. In terms of immigration, he asserted, “I think it’s absolutely not the Brexit that I wanted, or in fact, what many of the people who voted Brexit wanted.”

“And we must keep in mind that we are all caught up in the Brexit debate. We must keep in mind that the future of Britain after Brexit is up to all of us, not just the individuals who chose to leave the EU.”

The majority of Britons, he continued, have “quite pragmatic views” on immigration.

Yes, control it when it poses a threat to society, but let those who can contribute in, suggested Lord Wolfson. In order to address the present labor shortages, which have impacted industries including healthcare, hotels, and logistics, he proposed a market-based solution.

He proposed that companies that require foreign labor should be able to pay the government a 10% tax on those workers’ wages to ensure.

If they could locate someone in the UK, “it would inevitably mean that businesses never brought someone into the organization from outside,” he said. But they’ll pay the premium if they’re really unable to.

Net migration to the UK was predicted to be around 239,000 in the year ending June 2021, down slightly from the previous year’s estimate of 260,000, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Immigration from nations outside the European Union was a major factor in the number.

The principle of free movement, which allowed all EU citizens to live and work in any EU country, was in effect when the UK was an EU member. However, this freedom for EU individuals traveling to the UK and for UK people traveling to the EU terminated on December 31, 2020.

Nearly three-quarters of UK businesses experienced labor shortages in the previous 12 months, according to a survey conducted by the business lobby organization CBI last month.

According to the CBI, over half of the businesses asked wanted the government to issue temporary visas for jobs where there was a “clear scarcity.”

The aviation sector requested special immigration visas for foreign workers in the summer, but the request was denied. Airport delays and aircraft cancellations had been attributed to a shortage of personnel in the sector.

For some occupations where there is a scarcity of workers, the government has implemented a skilled worker visa program. Additionally, it provides a program for seasonal workers to cover professions like fruit pickers and a Health and Care Visa for medical personnel.

‘No need for a breakdown’

Although Lord Wolfson acknowledged that 2023 would be extremely difficult for consumers and businesses, he emphasized that many companies shouldn’t anticipate government assistance, which should instead be directed at the most vulnerable.

Giving money to companies that don’t actually need it, he claimed, is “the last thing we want them to do,” as the government needs to concentrate its “extremely limited resources on the people who most need help during the impending recession.”

In contrast to businesses seeking a tax break, he said, “that’s the people who are going to be cold and people who are going to be hungry.”

Although he acknowledged that the coming year will be challenging, Lord Wolfson, who is regarded as one of the sharpest minds in UK business, saw reasons to be optimistic.

First of all, relatively few workers would be jobless, in contrast to the recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s, when entire industries and regions saw job prospects collapse. It’s very unlikely that they won’t be able to find work, he said, even though people will be squeezed.

Second, he claimed that there were already indications of a potential strong recovery from the recession in 2024, as seen in the prices being quoted for future raw materials at the end of next year.

“A supply-side recession is fascinating in that the seeds of a correction are essentially guaranteed. Therefore, as demand declines and factories start to empty, prices start to decline “explained he. There is no need for a national nervous breakdown, he continued, even though next year will be difficult.