Payback time
ONE of the key reasons Brits voted for Brexit was to see our workers’ wages rise.
Decades of cheap immigrant labour allowed big business to drive down pay.
Painful and annoying short term shortages might be a price worth paying for long term wage gains[/caption]
A combination of Brexit rules and a Covid hangover means that cheap labour is no longer available, leading to inevitable bumps in the road.
Now those large corporations who failed to plan for it are squealing for immigration caps to be lifted so foreign workers can be let back in.
Boris Johnson has already agreed to ease them for HGV drivers — despite a heartening surge in wages for UK truckers — because the need is so great. But he must resist the temptation when other sectors, such as hospitality, inevitably come calling.
Businesses have already been bailed out to the tune of hundreds of billions of pounds to keep them afloat and save jobs during the pandemic. BoJo is right to say that government cannot solve all their problems.
A widespread lifting of immigration quotas would be a betrayal of those Brexit voters who demanded controls. This is a once in a generation chance for a fundamental shift in our economy.
We must not be panicked into squandering it. Painful and annoying short term shortages might be a price worth paying for long term wage gains.
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After all, what would you rather have for Christmas?
A turkey or a pay rise?
Tax tightrope
VOTERS may forgive shortages and chaos for a while.
But there is one area where the PM remains electorally vulnerable: tax.
Voters may forgive shortages and chaos, but Boris Johnson remains electorally vulnerable if he refuses to rule out further tax increases[/caption]
There is evidence his £36billion hike in National Insurance to pay for social care has already caused him significant damage in the polls.
So it was alarming to hear the PM yesterday again refusing to rule out further tax increases.
It is true the country faces huge challenges and soaring debt but higher taxes are never the answer.
Hikes in rates will shatter the Tories’ hard-won image as the low-tax party trusted to run the nation’s finances.
As Mr Johnson will no doubt be reminded at his party conference this week, losing that reputation could prove catastrophic.
Fix HRT pain
EVERY woman will face the menopause, yet millions are forced to suffer in silence.
Labour MP Carolyn Harris should be applauded for putting forward a bill calling for free HRT prescriptions.
It’s a key aim of The Sun’s campaign to raise awareness of the often devastating effects of the condition.
And we can think of no better example of “levelling up” than by the Government helping all women to gain health equality.