Without EU migrants, our economy will buckle under the pressure of Brexit

Only 45 per cent of ALP members say they will be able to recruit sufficient EU workers for the Christmas season – so don't expect a turkey on the table at Christmas

Manuel Cortes
Saturday 19 August 2017 12:29 BST
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Brexit Secretary David Davis
Brexit Secretary David Davis

I’m no cheerleader for Barack Obama but his tweet of defiance against Nazis was spot on.

Sadly, his words apply in Britain too. The EU referendum was a vote for pulling up the drawbridge on the moat around island Britain. This complete folly of this strategy is shown on the Irish border. On Wednesday, we saw the British Government bury any notion of building a Brexit wall in Ireland. Its proposal will permit anyone allowed into the Republic of Ireland the ability to come to the UK without going through British border controls.

This is a first step on the road to victory to preserve the continued right of free movement for the people of 32 countries. Britain’s EU workforce is already haemorrhaging because of uncertainty over whether they can stay here beyond the 2019 Drawbridge Day. The Royal College of Nursing has reported that just 96 EU nurses signed up this year to work in our NHS – down 1,300 on last year. The pattern is the same in our universities and our hospitality, tourism and travel industries. Every part of our economy is already suffering needless shock as EU workers depart our shores.

Brexit Secretary: UK wants temporary EU customs deal

The Association of Labour Providers (ALP) reported a crisis in labour supply, with a shortfall of 15,000 agricultural workers. British fruits are already withering on their vines. A third of agencies say they are able to supply sufficient workers for the remainder of this year’s summer peak. Some 45 per cent of ALP members say they will be able to recruit sufficient EU workers for the Christmas season. Expect a turkey shortage. And many a sigh for Brussels at Christmas dinners without sprouts because there was nobody to plant or pick them. Brexit really will become the Grinch that stole Christmas.

Its economic impact will worsen our balance of trade as we import more food and export less. Prices for agricultural products are likely to increase, adding to the Brexit inflation spike. We are all becoming poorer as a result. The truth Brexiteers never told is that immigration is good for us. It’s not a luxury we can do without. Things will get far worse if annual net migration falls below 100,000, the target advocated by the Prime Minister. We need 85,000 migrants a year just to keep our agricultural sector going. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs know this and are in the process of designing a model seasonal workers quota scheme. But this will only serve to feed the xenophobes.

The idea that anti-immigrant voters will be placated with restrictions on the amount of Germans and Poles but happy with more Brazilians and Chinese is simply laughable. That’s why I support The Independent's Drop the Target campaign.

EU set to block UK's temporary customs union plea to stop Brexit border chaos, warns former commissioner

Britain's ageing population means we need more fresh blood to keep our economy going. Without migrants, we will not have sufficient people in work to pay for our public services or our pensions.

Labour is absolutely right to pledge to scrap the Tories’ delusional migration target so we can make our economy a success. Its policies for huge public investment in skills, installing a system of sectoral collective bargaining and a national minimum wage of £10 per hour, are the only cure for those who the Tories have purposely left behind.

Jeremy Corbyn is a political game changer. He has transformed the narrative on our economy so we understand austerity as a political choice not an economic necessity. He can do the same with immigration which is an economic necessity and should not be subject to political whim. Our union wants to see the free movement that we currently enjoy written as a pledge into Labour’s next manifesto and we must now fight Tory attempts to get rid of it. A recent Eurobarometer survey showed that 70 per cent of British people support their right to free movement. A Labour choice of free movement at the ballot box will defeat the Tories’ toxic vision for Brexit Britain.

Manuel Cortes is general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA)

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