Training fruit pickers and truck drivers to reduce migration, says Soila Braverman

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By Brian Wheeler, Political Correspondent, May 15, 2023, 05:51 GMT

Updated 23 minutes ago

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Soella Braverman says there is “no good reason” the UK cannot train truck drivers and fruit pickers to reduce immigration.

The Home Secretary will argue in a speech later that he is “not racist” in wanting to control the border.

It has previously said its “ultimate ambition” is to reduce net migration – the difference between those entering and leaving the UK – to below 100,000.

The record is expected to reach 700,000 this year.

Braverman’s speech is seen by some as a warning shot for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to focus more on cutting immigration, although Downing Street says its words are clear with them.

Some senior conservatives believe more immigration is needed in the short term to boost economic growth.

“Every now and then we need more people to come into the country,” Trade Secretary Nigel Huddleston told the Radio Times, but “the main thing” is control.

“In the long term, we need migration to go down because that is what has caused some challenges in local areas for a long period of time,” he added.

The horticultural industry has suffered from a labor shortage since the UK’s exit from the European Union, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic.

A campaign to hire more UK-based workers for seasonal farming roles in 2021 has been scrapped after relatively few people joined.

Speaking later at a conference organized by a US-based right-wing campaign group in London, Braverman will say we must not “forget how to do things for ourselves”.

“There is no good reason why we can’t train enough heavy-duty truck drivers, butchers, or fruit pickers.”

Visa rules have been relaxed or modified in some sectors in recent years to address worker shortages.

The Home Secretary will tell the Conservative National Conference that Brexit allows for the building of a high-skill, high-wage economy “that is less dependent on foreign, low-skilled labour”.

The net immigration figure for 2022, due to be released next week, is estimated to be at least 700,000 — according to an analysis by the Center for Policy Studies.

This will be a record high, partly driven by Ukraine’s resettlement scheme, but mostly by more people coming to the UK to work and study from outside the EU.

Braverman became Home Secretary for the first time in September 2022, so it can be said that she has largely inherited the set of immigration numbers that will be released later this month.

By giving that speech now, she is, in effect, getting her turn first before these numbers are released.

Ms Braverman is also expected to use the speech to say that it is “not racist” to want to control Britain’s borders, and is not shy about saying she loves Britain.

“It is not xenophobic to say that mass and rapid immigration is unsustainable in terms of housing provision, 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 a racial minority to know these facts; and to say these facts.”

Reports that Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has been involved in “softening” proposals to restrict student dependents have been dismissed by an Education Department source.

The source said Ms Keegan had vocally endorsed “international student benefits” and suggested others in government did the same.

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