Evening Standard View: Labour faces tough choices to bring net migration down

The concept of “British jobs for British workers” is not a post-Brexit phenomenon. Indeed, the phrase was uttered by a man with internationalist and social democratic bona fides as unimpeachable as Gordon Brown all the way back in 2007. But in an era of high levels of net migration, which governments of all stripes say they want to cut, it has taken on greater salience.

This week, Yvette Cooper wrote to the Migration Advisory Committee, the independent body that advises the Government on migration issues. In her letter, the Home Secretary asked for a string of reviews into foreign workers coming to the UK, noting that the current “high levels of international recruitment reflect weaknesses in the labour market including persistent skills shortages in the UK.”

Cooper signalled that the Government is seeking to tighten visa requirements for skilled workers in sectors such as IT, telecommunications and engineering. This includes the possibility of raising the minimum salary threshold for overseas workers in these industries.

Clearly, it is preferable to use the domestic workforce to fill vacancies, but this requires a massive upskilling effort. Labour seems to understand this, and has recently launched “Skills England”, a new body charged with bringing together central and local government, business, trades unions and training providers. But even if successful, this will take time. In the interim, businesses will be understandably concerned if their access to skilled workers is cut off.

Ministers accept that we cannot continue to see the current huge inflows. In 2019, net migration was around 184,000. In 2022, it rose to a record 745,000. That figure has and will continue to fall, as humanitarian inflows from Ukraine and Hong Kong drop and because recent high levels of immigration are usually followed by elevated levels of emigration. 

However, if Labour wants to make good on its commitment to raise the UK’s employment rate from 75 per cent to 80 per cent, upskilling and education will be vital. The challenge will be to ensure that British businesses – as well as vital public services such as the NHS – can at the same time maintain access to the talent pool they need to compete on the international stage.