The British government's new immigration plans could have far-reaching consequences for British growers. "No people means that fruit will not be picked," as strawberry grower Andrew Sturgeon vented his concerns in a segment in a Dutch news item recently.
The UK wants to introduce an Australian-based points system from 1 January for issuing residence permits and work visas. For Sturgeon, the only Briton on the farm in a sparsely populated British region, it will be disastrous, because if the rules prevent new (Eastern European) migrant workers from coming to help him, his fruit will rot and that’s the end. The British government is relying on unemployed, inactive British people to fill the gap.