Home Secretary claims Britain has ‘too many’ low-skilled migrants
The Home Secretary hinted at reforming the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in an attempt to reduce immigration to Britain
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has claimed that Britain has too many “low-skilled” immigrants who don’t contribute enough to growing the country’s economy.
In an interview with The Sun on Sunday, Ms Braverman said the Conservative Party is committed to reducing net immigration despite plans to review policies in an attempt to boost growth with workers from abroad.
On the eve of the party conference, the Home Secretary said: “What we’ve got is too many low skilled workers coming into this country.
“Those people are coming here, they’re not necessarily working or they’re working in low skilled jobs, and they’re not contributing to growing our economy,” she added.
“We want people with high skills, we want people with tech qualifications… What we don’t want is a very steady stream of cheap foreign labour.”
Ms Braverman also vowed to take “dramatic action” against people arriving to the UK in boats on the Channel, which she described as “out of control”.
“There’s a crisis on the Channel and it’s been going on for far too long,” she said. “There have been huge attempts to try and stop the problem and I feel that we are at a stage now where we need to take dramatic action.
“So, the problem has gone out of control for a variety of reasons.”
She said the Modern Slavery Act, introduced by Theresa May to prevent exploitation, is being abused and hinted she may reform the Act to reduce immigration to Britain.
Ms Braverman said: “It’s a really low bar that you have to cross to be considered to be a victim of modern slavery, that is what is gumming up the system at the moment.
“That’s regardless of the fact that they may have paid tens of thousands of pounds for the privilege of being a so-called modern slave,” she added.
“That’s also regardless of the fact that they will have actively sought to come to the UK through an illegal, illicit and dangerous method. So, it’s being abused.”
She added that Britain has many international students who often bring dependants with them.
“So, students are coming on their student visa, but they’re bringing in family members who can piggyback onto their student visa,” she said.
Advocacy director at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Zehrah Hasan, told The Independent: “Those who Braverman labelled ‘low-skilled’ are the very people who, alongside British workers, keep this country going - caring for our elderly, cleaning our hospitals, keeping our shelves stocked and delivering food to our homes.
“Over the past two years, it’s been clearer than ever just how vital these workers are to our communities, and it’s no surprise that most of us want to see these workers valued more, not less.
“If the Home Secretary and her fellow cabinet members wanted to truly improve people’s lives in the UK, and help our communities thrive, they would ensure people who work for a living actually earn a living wherever they were born,” she added.
“They would end the hostile environment and create a simple pathway to papers, so that hundreds of thousands more people could live and work here safely. They would ensure that all workers have the right to challenge exploitative bosses, regardless of immigration status. Currently more and more exploitative bosses are making a killing off migrant workers’ misery, and Braverman’s plans are set to make matters worse.
“What we need right now isn’t more cruel and divisive anti-migrant rhetoric. What we need is a government that values and respects working people - regardless of skin colour, gender or where we were born.”
The Conservative Party conference is taking place in Birmingham from October 2, with Prime Minister Liz Truss and other leading party members in attendance.
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