Brexit-Backing Next CEO Now Wants More Overseas Workers After Campaigning Against The EU

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Lord Simon Wolfson claimed that the current arrangement is not the Brexit he wantedLord Simon Wolfson claimed that the current arrangement is not the Brexit he wanted

A Tory peer who was a prominent Brexiteer is now calling for “productive migration” to help the country’s growth – and everyone is making the same point.

Lord Wolfson, the CEO of Next, told the BBC this week: “We have got people queuing up to pick crops that are rotting in the fields, to work in warehouses that otherwise wouldn’t be operable – and we have to take a different approach to economically productive migration.

″You have to control immigration, but you have to control it in such a way that it benefits our economy rather than cripples it.”

 He added that in respects to immigration, it’s “definitely not the Brexit that I wanted” – and said the “vast majority of the country” feels the same.

″We’re all stuck in this Brexit argument. What we have to remember is what post-Brexit Britain looks like is not the preserve of those people who voted Brexit. It’s for all of us to decide,” Wolfson said.

Back in 2016, the chief executive was pushing for an exit from the bloc, meaning the end of freedom of movement between the UK and the other 27 EU members.

He claimed at the time: “Leaving the EU doesn’t have to mean isolation, it could actually mean the opposite but it depends on our tone and objectives. Europe is just one piece of the jigsaw.”

He pushed for the UK to redefine its relationship with countries outside of its nearest neighbours.

Immigration has become a sore topic particularly in recent weeks, as the UK’s workforce is struggling in the wake of the pandemic and the asylum seekers arriving via the English Channel continue to divide parliament.

Meanwhile, the economy is struggling and the government is looking to introduce substantial tax rises and spending cuts to plug the “fiscal black hole” in public finances.

But Wolfson’s solution to these problems has not gone down well on Twitter, as everyone is remembering his Brexit credentials...

In response to Wolfson’s comments, the government said it had delivered on “taking back control of our immigration system”.

According to the BBC, a spokesperson added: “Unemployment is at record lows and it’s vital we continue to bring in excellent key workers the UK needs, including thousands of NHS doctors and nurses through the Health and Care Visa and the Seasonal Workers scheme which brings in the workforce our farmers and growers need.”

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