The home secretary will argue that is “not racist” to want to control borders, in a speech later.
Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockSuella Braverman says there is “no good reason” the UK cannot train its own lorry drivers and fruit pickers to bring immigration down.
The home secretary will argue that it is “not racist” to want to control borders, in a speech later.
She has previously said her “ultimate aspiration” is to reduce net migration – the difference between those entering and leaving the UK – to below 100,000.
It is expected to hit a record 700,000 this year.
Ms Braverman’s speech is being seen by some as a warning shot to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to focus more on cutting immigration, although Downing Street says her words were cleared with them.
Some senior Conservatives believe more immigration is needed in the short-term to boost economic growth.
Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston told Times Radio “every now and again we also need more people to come into the country,” but the “key thing” was to have control.
“In the long term, we need immigration to come down because that’s what has been causing some challenges in local areas for a long period of time,” he added.
The horticulture industry has suffered labour shortages since the UK left the EU, which was made worse by the pandemic.
A campaign to recruit more UK-based workers for seasonal farm roles was scrapped in 2021 after a relatively small number of people signed up to it.
Speaking later at a conference organised by a US-based right-wing campaign group, in London, Ms Braverman will say we must not “forget how to do things for ourselves”.
“There is no good reason why we can’t train up enough HGV drivers, butchers or fruit pickers.”
However, visa rules have been relaxed or adjusted in some sectors in recent years to tackle worker shortages.
The government has also increased this year’s temporary visas for seasonal agricultural workers by 15,000. These visas are not included in the official net migration figure.
‘All talk’
The home secretary will tell the National Conservatism conference Brexit enables a high-skilled, high wage economy to be built “that is less dependent on low-skilled foreign labour”.
The net migration figure for 2022, due to be released next week, is estimated to be at least 700,000 – according to analysis by the centre-right think tank the Centre for Policy Studies.
This would be a record high, driven in part by the Ukraine resettlement scheme, but mostly by an increase in people coming to the UK to work and study from outside the EU.
Ms Braverman first became home secretary in September 2022, so will arguably have largely inherited the set of migration figures due out later this month.
By making this speech now she is, in effect, getting her pitch in first before those numbers are released.
However, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that Ms Braverman’s speech was “all talk”.
“She is the home secretary. They’ve been in power for 13 years,” he told LBC Radio. “If you’re in the job, it’s your job to do it.”
The Conservatives ditched a longstanding pledge to cut net migration to the tens of thousands in their 2019 election manifesto. But Ms Braverman told the Tory party conference last October the target remained her “ultimate aspiration” in the long term.
Are we already training UK workers?
There are already some schemes to train UK workers in doing the jobs that the home secretary was referring to.
A 16-week HGV Skills Bootcamp aims to train 11,000 people to become HGV drivers in England.
There are about 41,000 vacancies in the transport and storage sector, although not all of those are HGV drivers.
The British Meat Processors Association says there is currently a shortfall of about 10% in staff.
The level of training required depends on the role, with some apprenticeships and food safety training available for butcher roles. More extensive training is needed for roles such as vets in abattoirs.
Fruit pickers tend to get their training on the job – there are no current schemes to train UK workers in fruit picking.
In August 2021, a report by accountants Grant Thornton estimated there were 500,000 vacancies in the food and farming sector – including fruit pickers.
In her speech later, Ms Braverman is also expected to argue it is “not racist” to want to control Britain’s borders and she is not embarrassed to say she loves Britain.
“It’s not xenophobic to say that mass and rapid migration is unsustainable in terms of housing supply, service and community relations.”
Senior ministers, Tory MPs and right-wing commentators will gather at the three-day event in London, including Michael Gove, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Lord Frost.
Ms Braverman will also say: “I reject the left’s argument that it is hypocritical for someone from an ethnic minority to know these facts; to speak these truths.”
Reports that Education Secretary Gillian Keegan had been involved in “watering down” proposals to restrict dependents of students have been rejected by a source at the Department of Education.
The source said Ms Keegan had vocally supported the “benefits of international students” and suggested others in government had done the same.
The Times has also reported that Ms Keegan blocked plans to reduce the time foreign students can stay in the UK after finishing their course.