AMBER Rudd’s decision to commission a detailed analysis of the role of EU migrant workers in the UK economy was a welcome attempt to shine a light on a key issue. Here, at last, the Government was seeking hard evidence; a foundation from which to build a rational basis for dialogue.
The fact that the Home Secretary explicitly stated it would take into account the interests and concerns of Scottish businesses was particularly welcome.
But the reassurance that the Government is listening was short-lived. Hardly had the Migration Advisory Committee been briefed on the expected scope of its research before Ms Rudd’s colleagues were leaping ahead of its findings. Brandon Lewis, the immigration minister, has insisted the freedom of movement EU citizens currently enjoy must end by 2019 and immigration must be reduced to “sustainable levels”.
Yet, earlier, minsters, including Ms Rudd, had suggested freedom of movement might well continue under transition arrangements.
The impression given once again is that this is a government that simply does not know what it is trying to achieve, let alone what is in the best interests of the country. Commissioning work to help it find out was an encouraging sign. Ministers should wait for the information they need. Instead they appear to be stumbling in different directions in the dark.
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