No. of Recommendations: 3
I suspect the same thing is pushing Andy Burnham to consider reestablishing "free movement" between the UK and the EU. British "JCs" have been crying a river about being cut off from cheap, eastern European, labor.
Well the UK JCs' battle cry for their richly-merited cheap labour was already listened and heeded to in 2021 -
(un)surprisingly by a conservative government:
Following the Brexit vote, the primary architect of the post-Brexit immigration system that led to a sharp surge in net migration was Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his cabinet (notably Home Secretary Priti Patel). Although the campaign to leave the European Union was sold on "taking back control" of UK borders, the government ended free movement from the EU while simultaneously easing rules for non-EU immigration. While net migration from the EU plummeted into negative figures, immigration from non-EU countries—primarily India, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, and the Philippines—scaled up dramatically. Total net migration peaked at record highs of over 900,000 in 2022–2023.
There always is room for more greed of course.
Then again, there are other reasons for a politician who actually prioritises their country's wellbeing (some may still exist) to promote a return to the EU - economic efficiency, reducing customs and regulatory friction, making it easier for British businesses to export into the single market (many established EU subsidiaries post-Brexit), restoring access to European cooperation mechanisms, ...
