A Conservative Brexiteer leader has admitted the UK needs more EU workers to ease labor shortages and tackle inflation.
Former environment secretary George Eustice has called on Rishi Sunak to negotiate bilateral agreements with European countries offering work visas to young people.
He blasted the Prime Minister over the resulting labor shortages and inflationary pressures, saying they were not caused by Brexit but by ‘the failure of our immigration policy post-Brexit”.
And Mr Eustice challenged Mr Sunak on the ‘flaws’ of the current ‘so-called skills-based immigration system’, adding that the policy did not match the needs of the economy.
Although he did not call for a return to freedom of movement between the UK and the EU, Mr Eustice urged Mr Sunak to ‘rekindle this post-Brexit friendship with our European neighbours’.
The former minister’s comments will be seen as an admission of the failings of the government’s post-Brexit immigration policy. They come amid growing unease among Tory MPs over Brexit failures, and as senior Tory Tobias Ellwood has called for Britain to join the single market.
Mr. Eustic said The Observer“We welcome people deemed qualified such as lawyers, insolvency practitioners, museum agents, even disc jockeys, while we have no shortage in these sectors.
“But we don’t allow people to come and work here in sectors like the food industry, even though there are severe labor shortages in these sectors, which contributes to inflation.
“So that’s the big deal. My proposal is that we start bilateral negotiations with EU member states, starting with countries like Bulgaria, Romania and the Baltic states, and eventually expand them. across the EU to establish a reciprocal visa regime for youth mobility.
Mr Eustice said the deals should allow EU citizens under 35 to live and work in the UK for two years, while UK citizens would be allowed to do the same in EU member states with whom agreements have been concluded.
His intervention is the latest sign of a split in the Conservative Party over immigration, coming just days after a group of right-wing MPs launched the so-called New Conservatives.
The group is calling on Mr Sunak to crack down on foreign social workers and foreign students to cut net migration from 606,000 to less than 226,000 before the next election.
The New Tory group was slapped by No 10 and branded ‘populist and isolationist’ by fellow Tory MPs.
Mr Eustice also attacked Theresa May’s post-Brexit immigration policy, who called it “a leftover interpretation of what Brexit was”.
“This idea of not having a temporary visa regime did not come from the Vote Leave campaign,” he said.
Mr Eustice added: “That wasn’t the point of Brexit. People wanted controlled immigration and not lifting the drawbridge and not letting anyone in at all.
Sectors such as hospitality, retail, construction and transport have been hit by the loss of EU workers after Brexit.
The British Retail Consortium has accused Brexit of having “exacerbated the labor shortages” facing the sector.
A head office spokesperson said: “We already have successful youth mobility schemes with 10 countries, including Australia and New Zealand, and remain open to agreeing these with our international partners, including states. EU members.
“We are working closely with the Migration Advisory Board to ensure that our points-based system works for the UK and works in the best interests of the economy, including reviewing the list of shortage occupations for make sure it reflects the current job market.”