Brexit has occurred; now we need to make some changes

It’s enough for a Remainer to say ‘I told you so’, but the labour shortage situation we find ourselves in is no laughing matter, writes Chris Blackhurst

Jobs aplenty: Fundamental attitudes need adjustment (Getty/iStock)

Be careful what you wish for. Having voted for Brexit, the country is now desperately short of EU workers to pick crops, drive vans, stack shelves in warehouses, serve food and drink, and mop floors and wipe tables.

The same people who willed us to leave the EU are now moaning about slow service in bars and restaurants – or no service at all – as some places are forced to shut because they can’t get the staff. Fruit and vegetables are left rotting in parts of the country that were among the most pro-Brexit. Suddenly, they’ve found that those Europeans they so relied upon are no longer available. Some of it is Covid-related but once the pandemic is over, many of the holes will still be unfilled.

It’s enough to make a Remainer laugh and say, “told you so”. This, though, isn’t a joke. Looking back to what could have been will not get us anywhere. What is done is done, we’ve left the EU, which means the UK must find a way of filling the vacancies or else the economic fallout will be dire.