Post-Brexit UK wants flexibility for countries to tailor immigration

Birmingham — The UK government envisages a post-Brexit immigration system that treats all nations equally, but gives ministers the flexibility to tailor rules for countries striking trade deals.

High-skilled workers will be prioritised and low-skilled immigration curbed under new rules announced by UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday, a day before her leader’s speech at the Conservative Party annual conference. May spent the morning touring broadcast studios to detail her plan, which she said delivers on the 2016 Brexit referendum and voters’ concern about immigration.

“It is going to bring free movement to an end for once and for all, meaning we’re in control of our borders; we will be deciding who comes here,” May told BBC radio. “That decision will be based not on where somebody comes from, but on the contribution they will make to our economy, and so it will be a skills-based system.”

The proposals largely mirror recommendations made in a report last month by the migration advisory committee commissioned by the government. The new system is likely to go down well with Brexit voters who argue that cheap labor from the EU has undermined wages and put pressure on public services, but could hinder negotiations over Britain’s departure from the bloc in March.

Business worries

Businesses which rely on those workers, including in the construction and hospitality industries, will also need reassurances that they can still fill vacancies at a time when unemployment is at historic lows. Ministers have already announced a programme for seasonal agricultural workers to allay fears that produce may be left rotting in fields.

“For too long, people have felt they have been ignored on immigration and that politicians have not taken their concerns seriously enough,” May said in a statement. “The new, skills-based system will make sure low-skilled immigration is brought down and set the UK on the path to reduce immigration to sustainable levels, as we promised. At the same time, we are training up British people for the skilled jobs of the future.”

May has stuck resolutely to a long-held target of cutting net annual immigration to the tens of thousands — from more than 200,000 currently. The Tories haven’t come close to meeting it since coming to power in 2010.

UK immigration minister Caroline Nokes told Bloomberg TV that proposals will be put forward this autumn, with a draft law following “within the next few months.” Nokes suggested that countries that strike trade deals with the UK — including the EU — could aspire to more privileged access for workers. “It’s really important that we don’t rule anything out at this point in the negotiations.” 

Asked if Britain might make a better immigration offer to the 27 remaining EU nations than to the rest of the world, she said: “Or it could be the case that there is something better for other parts of the world, and I think that’s the flexibility we’re certainly going to need.”

With Anna Edwards

Bloomberg