Sir Vince Cable has accused the PM of supressing up to nine expert reports (Photo: Creative Commons)
Elham Asaad Buaras
Liberal Democrat Leader, Sir Vince Cable, has accused the Prime Minister of suppressing up to nine expert reports that found immigration has little effect on wages or jobs of UK workers.
Theresa May, who was the longest serving Home Secretary, has continually defended plans to enforce strong controls on European Union workers after Brexit by arguing they are needed to protect Britons in lower-paid jobs.
In a statement released on September 7, Cable said during his time as Business Secretary, “there were up to nine studies that we looked at that took in all the academic evidence. It showed that immigration had very little impact on wages or employment. But this was suppressed by the Home Office under Theresa May because the results were inconvenient.”
Sir Vince added: “I remember it vividly. Overwhelmingly it has been the case that overseas workers have been complementary rather than competitive to British workers. The exodus of tradespeople, NHS staff and tech industry workers shows the potential damage of an extreme Brexit.”
The claims come after the leak of draconian Home Office proposals for post-Brexit curbs on immigration, triggering a major political row.
The plans would strip all newly-arrived EU migrants of their rights to live permanently in the UK, imposing permits of between two and five years.
In her Conservative party conference speech last year, the PM said: “I know a lot of people don’t like to admit this. For someone who finds themselves out of work or on lower wages because of low-skilled immigration, life simply doesn’t seem fair.”
However, the claim was rejected by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which argued immigrants also create jobs, expanding the opportunities for British workers.
Business leaders, defending the need for immigration, have argued that employment is at record levels, creating shortages in the UK workforce.
A spokesman for the Home Office told The Muslim News, “We published a joint report with BIS [The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills] back in 2014 when he was in charge of the Department which covered the evidence on labour market impacts of migration
We have also commissioned the MAC over the years to look at different migration routes and one such report found ‘a Small negative impact on the wages of the low paid.’”
Iftikhar AhmadOctober 7, 2017
Senior Conservative MPs are demanding Theresa May impose a five-year ban on unskilled immigrant visas, arguing the focus should be on young, unemployed UK citizens.
Leave Means Leave, a hard line pro-Brexit group that wants to leave the EU single market and “take control” of the UK’s borders, is advocating a new points-based immigration system, combined with work permits, to bring down net migration to 50,000 per year – half the Government’s current target.
The group, which includes at least 30 Tory MPs and Lords including Owen Paterson, Dominic Raab and Gerald Howarth, said in a statement: “Brexit is not about splendid isolation – it’s about re-engaging with the world, without our wings clipped by the European Union.”
“But by introducing strict controls, an annual cap and a five-year freeze on unskilled migrants, it will reduce net migration year on year, lessen the strain on our public services and help build a more cohesive society. It will be a system fit for 21st century Britain.”
There would be no cap on highly skilled workers entering the country under the plan, which encourages more UK citizens to work for the NHS.
A working visa would only be granted to someone with a job offer, who is sponsored by a company in the UK and has a minimum salary of £35,000. An immigrant would also have to take out a five-year private insurance plan to prevent them using the NHS until they are “qualified settlers”.
Critics of those who wish to cap immigration say the UK relies on an influx of both skilled and unskilled workers in industries that suffer a shortage of labour, such as social care, and that current unskilled workers have faced exploitation and discrimination, working for less than the minimum wage.
“Train our kids” what kids, UK native population does not produce enough to replace themselves! Furthermore, those kids, especially the boys, do not go on to 3rd level in sufficient numbers. “Leave” fools and everybody else NEED immigration unless they are prepared for a shrinking economy, shrinking services and shrinking pensions when they retire. I don’t see a government of any hue supporting such policy.
IA