Britain has 'too many' low-skilled migrants, interior minister says

Robert Besser
05 Oct 2022, 02:26 GMT+10

Britain's new interior minister Suella Braverman said new Prime Minister Liz Truss' government aimed to carry out a 2019 election pledge to lower net migration
She also said Britain has too many students coming into this country and a really high number of dependents
Since January 2021, most workers must be paid at least $28,570 a year for an employer to provide a visa

LONDON, England: Stating that Britain has too many low-skilled migrant workers, the country's new interior minister, Suella Braverman, said new Prime Minister Liz Truss' government aimed to carry out a 2019 election pledge to lower net migration.

"What we've got is too many low skilled workers coming into this country," she said in an interview with The Sun newspaper. "We've also got a very high number of students coming into this country and we've got a really high number of dependents."

"Those people are coming here, they're not necessarily working or they're working in low-skilled jobs, and they're not contributing to growing our economy," she added.

Since January 2021, most workers must be paid at least $28,570 a year for an employer to provide a visa, causing problems for employers in sectors such as agriculture, hospitality and some manufacturing, where lower wages are common.

Net migration to Britain totalled 239,000 in the year to June 2021, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Braverman also said she wanted to restrict the ability of migrants to challenge deportations on the basis that they had been subjected to forced labour or human trafficking, known in Britain as "modern slavery".

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