The head of the Next retail chain, Lord Simon Wolfson, who backed the UK leaving the EU, is asking the government to make it easier for foreign workers to enter the country to relieve the crippling labour shortages.
He said it is not the Brexit he wanted, asking for a more controlled migration system that will allow more workers across the borders. The Brexit rules does not allow EU nationals the freedom of movement and living to take up harvesting, warehouse and other crucial jobs.
Official figures shows unemployment in the UK is at its lowest rate since 1974, but job vacancies are at its highest levels. In a recent study released by the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, only 43 000 people from the EU were issued visas in 2021, compared to the 230 000 to 430 000 that came each year in the six years before Brexit and Covid-19 restrictions.