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Next CEO Simon Wolfson has urged the government to allow more overseas workers into the UK on account of the country’s current “chronic” labour shortages, according to the BBC.
As a pro-Brexit Conservative peer, Wolfson’s calls on the government to alleviate staff shortages through immigration come as the UK’s current policy is said to be “crippling” economic growth.
According to Wolfson, in order to encourage employers to find workers from the UK first, firms should have to pay a 10% tax to the government on foreign workers’ salaries if they have to resort to employing foreign workers.
The BBC also reports that Wolfson admitted to 2023 being a tough year for consumers and businesses, yet insisted that many businesses should not expect government support that should be targeted at the most needy.
Wolfson said: “I think in respect of immigration, it’s definitely not the Brexit that I wanted, or indeed, what many of the people who voted Brexit wanted. And we have to remember that we’re all stuck in this Brexit argument, we have to remember that what post-Brexit looks like, is not the preserve of those people that voted Brexit, it’s for all of us to decide.
“Yes, control it, where it’s damaging to society, but let people in who can who can contribute.”
The Home Office told the BBC: “We have got people queuing up to come to this country to pick crops that are rotting in fields, to work in warehouses that otherwise wouldn’t be operable, and we’re not letting them in. And we have to take a different approach to economically productive migration.”
