The truth is out...

[Workingman]

... Ministers want thousands of low-skilled immigrants every year. All the fluff about letting in only high-skilled workers to fill genuine shortages was utter rubbish.

These low-skilled are apparently needed in agriculture, hospitality, construction and social care, as well as other sectors. Why would that be? Low-skilled jobs are just that, work that can be completed competently with the minimum of training. There must be enough British workers to fill many of the gaps.

My take is that the education, work and benefits systems are skewed against the ordinary person. The problem is that sorting those out is a difficult job so the government and business are taking the easy option.

The whole issue is the reason we are heading for 'Brexit Lite' and not what was voted for in the referendum.

[Suff]

Think it through. Every government has been beating the drum for 4 decades that "everyone" should have a chance to go to University and get a degree.

To do what?

Cut Broccoli?

[Workingman]

True, but the ones being talked about are those who did not get 'five good GCSE's' and there are a lot of them. They would never have gone to University, no matter what the entry system was.

In years past they would have done the manual work as labourers, fork truck drivers, in warehousing, doing the donkey work on building sites, general driving, in cafes and bars, cleaning....

A lot is made of the seasonal work on the farms where immigrants are seen as essential, and that might be the case, but many of the jobs mentioned above have been taken by immigrants when they could have gone to British workers.

[cromwell]

I've said this before, but imo every mainstream politician who says they are going to reduce immigration, lies.

The Tories are the party of big business. Big business wants mass immigration for cheap labour and increased consumption of goods.
Labour want it because immigrants are 68% most likely to vote for Labour (according to a poll I saw in the Telegraph a while since).
The Libdems want it because they are the Libdems.

So it really doesn't matter what the ordinary people want, they aren't going to get it.

[Workingman]

I do not understand the low wages 'cheap labour' claim for immigrants.

The new system was introduced in 2010 and was probably not fully rolled out till 2013. However, from that time it has been illegal to employ anyone below the different rates for each age group, anyone doing so is breaking the law. Is big business breaking the law?

If so the law should be applied.

[TheOstrich]

We need to say to those coming out of education without qualifications - you do a modicum of manual work, even if it's seasonal, or you don't get any welfare benefits.

And we need to ban all low-skilled immigration to create those work opportunities.

[Suff]

Some interesting exceptions there.

As ever, the ability to abuse the exceptions is greater for people who are not UK citizens and therefore totally visible as to their status.