muckles:
The article seems to have very little to do with Brexit and more to do with supply and demand of seasonal agricultural labour across the EU?
That wasn’t the point. The point was that as soon as inflows of workers from Eastern Europe have abated (for supply and demand reasons), the Tories have opened up another door to allow farm bosses to recruit new sources of cheap labour from Russia and Ukraine.
Exactly so the title is misleading. But regardless it doesn’t surprise me that the Conservatives would allow businesses to find another source of cheap worker, although seasonal agricultural workers, normally students have been used by farms for many years, I remember working with loads of East Europeans on the potato harvest in the 90’s, despite their rhetoric the conservative are as keen on high levels of immigration as any on the left of the political spectrum.
Quite so.
Ignoring left/right leanings, the current capitalist system needs an increasing population, doesn’t it?
And it is cheaper and easier to import working age people, rather than pay to educate kids etc. Then with expensive housing we can expect them to bugger off abroad when they retire and start needing hospital care.
Work’s well don’t it?
.
.
Insert cynical smiley: here.
Rjan:
That wasn’t the point. The point was that as soon as inflows of workers from Eastern Europe have abated (for supply and demand reasons), the Tories have opened up another door to allow farm bosses to recruit new sources of cheap labour from Russia and Ukraine.
Exactly so the title is misleading. But regardless it doesn’t surprise me that the Conservatives would allow businesses to find another source of cheap worker, although seasonal agricultural workers, normally students have been used by farms for many years, I remember working with loads of East Europeans on the potato harvest in the 90’s, despite their rhetoric the conservative are as keen on high levels of immigration as any on the left of the political spectrum.
And your ultimate sentence is exactly my point. That is why I ask, are Brexiteers on the right really against free movement of workers?
The Tories have been harping on about immigration for some time, victimising small numbers of people who in many cases have been here since the 60s or 70s for almost their whole lives, yet every chance they have the Tories wilfully increase immigration amongst groups who have no prior link at all to Britain, and whose function in being drawn in is simply to hold wages down.
muckles:
The article seems to have very little to do with Brexit and more to do with supply and demand of seasonal agricultural labour across the EU?
That wasn’t the point. The point was that as soon as inflows of workers from Eastern Europe have abated (for supply and demand reasons), the Tories have opened up another door to allow farm bosses to recruit new sources of cheap labour from Russia and Ukraine.
Exactly so the title is misleading. But regardless it doesn’t surprise me that the Conservatives would allow businesses to find another source of cheap worker, although seasonal agricultural workers, normally students have been used by farms for many years, I remember working with loads of East Europeans on the potato harvest in the 90’s, despite their rhetoric the conservative are as keen on high levels of immigration as any on the left of the political spectrum.
Quite so.
Ignoring left/right leanings, the current capitalist system needs an increasing population, doesn’t it?
And it is cheaper and easier to import working age people, rather than pay to educate kids etc. Then with expensive housing we can expect them to bugger off abroad when they retire and start needing hospital care.
Work’s well don’t it?
.
.
Insert cynical smiley: here.
Indeed.
Although I’m not sure capitalism inherently requires a growing population.
Obviously you can increase the scale of exploitation by enlarging the number of people engaged via population growth, but you can also do that by conquering people, forcing down wages, or marketising more functions and aspects of daily life and increasing market consumption (e.g. how elderly care is now a profit-making business, whereas in the not-so-distant past it was performed domestically without anybody having to render a share of that labour to a capitalist).
There is no necessary link between capitalism and population growth.
Rjan:
That wasn’t the point. The point was that as soon as inflows of workers from Eastern Europe have abated (for supply and demand reasons), the Tories have opened up another door to allow farm bosses to recruit new sources of cheap labour from Russia and Ukraine.
Exactly so the title is misleading. But regardless it doesn’t surprise me that the Conservatives would allow businesses to find another source of cheap worker, although seasonal agricultural workers, normally students have been used by farms for many years, I remember working with loads of East Europeans on the potato harvest in the 90’s, despite their rhetoric the conservative are as keen on high levels of immigration as any on the left of the political spectrum.
And your ultimate sentence is exactly my point. That is why I ask, are Brexiteers on the right really against free movement of workers?
The Tories have been harping on about immigration for some time, victimising small numbers of people who in many cases have been here since the 60s or 70s for almost their whole lives, yet every chance they have the Tories wilfully increase immigration amongst groups who have no prior link at all to Britain, and whose function in being drawn in is simply to hold wages down.
I think the you need to understand that the Conservative party is a broad church, which is why it is so split on Brexit, at one side you have the disgusted of Tunbridge Wells, village fete, types and the other side are the hard nosed city types, globalists, multi national directors. One side wants to live in some 1930’s 1950’s idillic Britain that never really existed for many, and the other wants a global business empire, with maximum ways of reducing costs (bringing in cheap labour, moving production the 3rd world sweatshops) and increasing dividends for share holders.
Rjan:
That wasn’t the point. The point was that as soon as inflows of workers from Eastern Europe have abated (for supply and demand reasons), the Tories have opened up another door to allow farm bosses to recruit new sources of cheap labour from Russia and Ukraine.
Exactly so the title is misleading. But regardless it doesn’t surprise me that the Conservatives would allow businesses to find another source of cheap worker, although seasonal agricultural workers, normally students have been used by farms for many years, I remember working with loads of East Europeans on the potato harvest in the 90’s, despite their rhetoric the conservative are as keen on high levels of immigration as any on the left of the political spectrum.
And your ultimate sentence is exactly my point. That is why I ask, are Brexiteers on the right really against free movement of workers?
The Tories have been harping on about immigration for some time, victimising small numbers of people who in many cases have been here since the 60s or 70s for almost their whole lives, yet every chance they have the Tories wilfully increase immigration amongst groups who have no prior link at all to Britain, and whose function in being drawn in is simply to hold wages down.
I think the you need to understand that the Conservative party is a broad church, which is why it is so split on Brexit, at one side you have the disgusted of Tunbridge Wells, village fete, types and the other side are the hard nosed city types, globalists, multi national directors. One side wants to live in some 1930’s 1950’s idillic Britain that never really existed for many, and the other wants a global business empire, with maximum ways of reducing costs (bringing in cheap labour, moving production the 3rd world sweatshops) and increasing dividends for share holders.
True enough.
And they’ll do and say anything to get a vote…
Hmmm they may not be alone in that though?
Once the main parties were populated by those who had strong principles and beliefs. Now too many chase votes and popularity by saying what their audience wants to hear.
Too few speak of hard truths.
Grumpy Dad:
Has the government and left wing snowflakes actually sat down and thought about why Britain has a labour shortage, it’s because each and every government has promised to help the unemployed with increased benefits and handouts.
Britain has become a ever wanting society, the students want free learning with the bill passed to the tax payer, and paying tax is something the soap dodging layabouts will never pay as they bounce from course to course, grant after grant increasing the debt they’ll never pay, the unemployed who see living life on handouts a far easier existence than having to carry out manual labour to put food on the table.
Britain has its own viable workforce and maybe it’s time society was gripped by the balls and this workforce was put to use instead of increasing our national debt and our need for foreign labour.
Yep,a rising tide raises all boats as the saying goes,sad that our boats in old blighty remain perma stuck in the clag,rapidly taking on water,for want of a far better metaphor.
