Thread by @docrussjackson

'Breaking the Silence on the Contradictions at the Heart of Post-#Brexit Immigration Policies'.

'The core political principles justifying calls for reduced migration, & ‘taking back control of borders’, are fundamentally at odds with #neoliberal logic'.

es.britsoc.co.uk/?post_type=pos…

"#Neoliberal logic (is) associated with the free movement of capital, goods and labour. Neoliberal economics promotes the removal of restraints, in the service of fostering a free market."

"These principles have found renewed voice in so-called #Trussonomics, embodying the agenda of the highly influential #IEA. Those promoting this agenda are at odds with others inside the Tory party, such as Braverman, who propose to further tighten restrictions on migration."

"Reducing migration may have been a vote winner in 2019 but the consequences of this policy eg the severe shortage of nurses & carers, are clearly visible & impact most on the poorest & most disadvantaged in society who rely disproportionately upon health & social care services".

"We argue that this fundamental contradiction at the heart of Tory politics needs to be exposed instead of hidden behind what the Financial Times has called a ‘conspiracy of silence‘ relating to #Brexit."

"In the context of the Conservative Government’s post-Brexit immigration policy: (we see) the fundamental contradiction between the free trade, free-market, #neoliberal economics & the neo-nationalist pre-occupation of ‘taking back control of our borders’."

"In the real-world policy mess of the post-#Brexit context, what emerged in reality is very different to what either the free-marketeers or the neo-nationalists claimed would be delivered by the Brexit dividend."

"In terms of trade, the UK has: largely failed to secure the new free-trade deals promised (in particular with the United States); is beset with new frictions in its business with the EU (as both its nearest neighbour, and world’s largest market), and...

...is desperately hoping that no-one will notice the ecological insanity of replacing more sustainable ‘local’ trade with the EU with comparatively unproductive trans-planetary deals with the likes of Australia."

"Following the removal of EU Freedom of Movement rights, the Govt has attempted to fill job vacancies by quietly introducing a raft of short term, sector-specific immigration visas... from farm workers, to butchers, to poultry workers, to lorry drivers, social care & NHS staff."

"Over 80,000 skilled sponsored worker visas were issued in 2021, primarily in Health Care. Given the continued job vacancies in that one sector alone, any political aspiration to bring migration down to the ‘tens of thousands’ seems not only unrealistic but probably dangerous...

...to the overall viability of the UK health sector, & to the broader economic vitality of the nation. Moreover, these schemes are highly bureaucratic, placing a burden on employers."

"They have also singularly failed in recruiting sufficient numbers of workers, largely because these temporary opportunities are not attractive to migrants. Such short-term schemes are underpinned by the (mistaken) view that migration can be turned on & off like a tap"

"Migrants are reduced to economic units, rather than social beings with complex needs and relationships, including families. Any hope that migrants might have of embedding in British society are dashed by such time limited visa schemes."

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

"Moreover, as the experiences of other countries show, these so-called guest-worker schemes simply do not work in the long term."

blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview…

"In the past the UK relied heavily on Ireland as a reserve army of labour, for example in construction & in the #NHS, where the common travel area agreement retains the free movement of labour, but as the Irish economy booms, migration from that country has fallen dramatically".

"We must urgently challenge the political conspiracy of silence that is currently working to close down scrutiny of the #Brexit ‘dividend’. The Conservative Govt, presiding over the consequences of Brexit, has absolutely no wish to see a light shone on its real-world effects."

"The @UKLabour Party, eager to recapture the hearts and minds of the Brexit-supporting voters behind the ‘Red Wall’, has clearly decided that a sustained critique of the Tory Governments delivery of Brexit is an electoral liability."

"The @BBC, fighting a rear-guard action both against Conservative Party efforts to revision its licence-fee funding, & Tory deployments of the culture wars to smear the organisation as ‘woke’ & ‘leftist’, appears to be steering well clear of a proper & sober evaluation of ...

...the impact of what was arguably the biggest political decision taken by the UK since WWII."

"We argue that it is time for an open and meaningful conversation about immigration that is both empirically informed, and that takes a critical-analytical lens to the competing and contradictory ideological and political dynamics framing the current post-Brexit context."

"The consequences of post-Brexit immigration restrictions need to be thoroughly evaluated to assess the impact not only on the rights & working conditions of migrant workers but also on...

...the wider population who might very well now find themselves waiting for ambulances, unable to secure social care or to book #NHS appointments. It is indeed time to break the silence on Brexit!"

- Jon Mulholland (Uni of the West of England) & Louise Ryan (London Met Uni).