Andrea Leadsom says fruit picking is a job for Brits… although she hopes migrants will stay and do it too
The Environment Secretary questioned why wages for agricultural jobs aren't higher and said we need to encourage more of our young people to take up the roles
BRITONS should do fruit picking and farm jobs done by EU migrants, a Cabinet minister believes.
Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom said she wants more young people to “engage with countryside matters”.
She declared: “We could get British people doing those jobs and that tempts me to stray into the whole issue of why wages aren't higher and so on."
“My absolute hope is that with more apprenticeships, that actually the concept of a career in food production is going to be much more appealing.”
Mrs Leadsom added she hoped those migrants doing a good job in the farming sector continue to do so.
She said: "As has been made very clear, it is not Theresa May's intention to deport anyone unless our European colleagues announce their intention to do likewise.
"So, she is absolutely intending that those people who come here and do a great job in our food and farming sector continue to do that.
She also insisted there would be no bonfire of environmental legislation after Brexit, saying: “There is a lot of EU legislation over the last 40 years we would have undoubtedly introduced ourselves.
“I don’t for one minute accept that the only reason we are cleaning up our beaches is because the EU made us.”
"How ridiculous is that?
"It's because we really like clean beaches in this country and we want to swim in the sea.
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But the former-Tory party leader candidate admitted some legislation could be “significantly” rewritten.
She said: “There are some things in the body of EU legislation that works for 28 member states but doesn’t actually work for the UK.”