Britain will be self-sufficient and won’t need extra EU migration through visa schemes after Brexit, Lord Green claims
The Migration Watch founder said that unemployed Brits looking for work could plug the gap when we quit the bloc
BREXIT BRITAIN can be “self-sufficient” in low-skilled jobs and has no need to fear an exodus of EU workers – it was claimed today.
Migration Watch founder Lord Green insisted there was “ultimately” no need for temporary seasonal VISA schemes for migrants.
He told peers Brits could even plug the gaps in sectors such as agriculture and horticulture.
He said: “We have 1.5 million unemployed, and one million part-time looking for full time work. It’s not as if the barrel is empty.”
Quoting the example of a sandwich company that shipped in 250 staff from Hungary, he added that turning off the tap of cheap foreign labour to UK firms would force them to offer higher wages for Brits and to train them up.
The peer also urged the Government to look once more at launching ID cards to better monitor who is coming and going after Brexit.
But the comments to a cross-party Lords Committee sparked a withering response from political economist Philippe Legrain, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics.
Amid a bitter exchange over migration policy he countered: “I’m just speechless that you could aim for self-sufficiency.
“Robinson Crusoe scraped by on his island. But the idea that it’s desirable is insane.”
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The row came in a two-hour on future migration policy where peers heard concerns about the quality of data collected on migrants coming and going to and from the UK.
Stephen Clarke of the Resolution Foundation repeated claims immigration between 2010 and 2014 may have been 400,000 higher than official estimates.
Lord Green insisted there was a fundamental need for Britain to cut immigration to address public concerns. He said it made sense to use similar arrangements for non-EU skilled workers for EU migrants post Brexit in a bid to control the numbers.
And he added that even if the Government hit its net migration of 100,000 in each of the next 25 years, the UK population was still expected to soar by a further 9 million.
But Mr Legrain insisted the economy would be clobbered by any fall. And he attacked the Government for a “byzantine” approach to immigration.
He said Theresa May’s current approach mirrored “Soviet style manpower planning”.
Speaking to the Lords Economic Affairs Committee, he said: “A target is a nonsense.
“It’s absurd because there’s no right level of net migration
The economist insisted migration was good for the economy – and freed up Brits to work more and do better jobs. And he said: “Employment is at record highs, so there isn’t a harmful impact on UK workers.”
Lord Green countered: “Just for the record we found no evidence for the argument that net immigration generates significant economic benefits for the existing UK population.