• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
North East Bylines
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Brexit
    • Education
    • Environment
    • European News
    • Health
    • Politics
    • Science
    • UK News
    • World News
    woman on boat

    Where have all the EU citizens gone, long time passing…?

    to seek asylum is not a crime

    Momentous week ahead for women trapped in detention in County Durham

    RMT official picket

    Rail strikes: is class solidarity back?

    Curfew bracelets

    Curfew bracelets

    Sign saying welcome refugees

    World refugee day 2022

    Söke

    Reflections on Söke and lessons to learn

    Chi Onwurah backs Mencap campaign

    Chi Onwurah backs Mencap “Listen to us” campaign

    Nigel Todd

    Nigel Todd remembered: a socialist legacy

    Taj mahal

    Passage to India: box set

    Trending Tags

    • Ukraine
  • Culture
    • All
    • Animation
    • Books
    • Illustrations & More
    • Music
    • Performance
    • Poetry
    • Social Media
    • Theatre
    • TV & Radio
    doctorbird

    Doctorbird (Jamaica 1998)

    Curfew bracelets

    Curfew bracelets

    Söke

    Reflections on Söke and lessons to learn

    Visitors in the former Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland

    Seventeen Nineteen: Hidden Stories in Sunderland church

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    gymnast

    Culture of fear in British gymnastics uncovered by the Whyte Review

    Kennedy and Rhind

    Kennedy and Rhind: more time to enjoy a North East favourite

    Hoppings

    The Hoppings is back in Newcastle!

    Chi Onwurah MP

    Chi backs watchdog for fast fashion industry

    High Force waterfall

    Feeling the full force of Teesdale at the High Force Hotel

    A group of swimmers stand in the sea at sunrise.

    Interview with cold water swimmer Sarah Rowland

    Meat feast pizza

    Bella Italia launches new menu

    Ukrainian necklace

    Ukrainian Cultural Heritage: jewellery, accessories and some morale boosting art

    Leek and mushroom bake

    Leek and mushroom bake

    Trending Tags

    • Business
      • All
      • Economy
      • Rural
      • Technology
      • Trade
      • Voluntary Sector
      Friends Action North East

      Friends Action North East: supporting people’s lives

      Söke

      Reflections on Söke and lessons to learn

      Visitors in the former Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland

      Seventeen Nineteen: Hidden Stories in Sunderland church

      Refugee week

      Sing up for refugee week in Newcastle!

      Lachlan and Ryan

      Top sports stars step in to help male suicide charity

      Older person enjoying TikTok

      Go glammas! How older people are turning to TikTok to dispel myths about ageing

      A group of volunteers in high vis jackets, with their backs to the camera, operate a table giving out food distributions.

      Charity helps feed communities amidst the cost of living crisis

      young people talking

      Counselling support for young refugees in the North East

      Russia and China flags with two people shaking hands

      Russia’s quasi-colonial dependence on China

      Trending Tags

      • Region
        • All
        • Co. Durham
        • North East
        • Northumberland
        • Teesside
        • Tyneside
        • Wearside
        RMT official picket

        Rail strikes: is class solidarity back?

        Visitors in the former Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland

        Seventeen Nineteen: Hidden Stories in Sunderland church

        Nigel Todd

        Nigel Todd remembered: a socialist legacy

        Three boys stand in front of a man. All three of them are stood in front of a fire engine.

        Firefighting Uncle helping to raise £260,000 for nephew with rare cancer

        Kennedy and Rhind

        Kennedy and Rhind: more time to enjoy a North East favourite

        Campaigning for Samuel in Loftus Market Place, 1906 - "More Boots - less Beer."

        Opposition to the first immigration bill

        dead fish

        Defra on the defensive over toxic dumping in Tees Bay

        Secret Garden

        The Secret Garden at Hexham Abbey Gardens

        empty purse

        Cost of living crisis could put thousands more North East families into deeper poverty

        Trending Tags

        • Opinion
          Titanic coming out of Southampton

          The 110th anniversary of the Titanic’s departure

          There is an England

          There is an England

          Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union"

          The parody of disinformation: Boris Johnson on Ukraine and Brexit

          Boris Johnson’s comments on Ukraine and Brexit are an insult

          TV Agency staff jumping in the air

          The TV Agency celebrates 10th anniversary with global success

          North East of County Dublin

          North East of England and North East of County Dublin: Compare and contrast

          North Sea oil rig

          Copping out of COP: Ukraine, fossil fuels and nuclear fusion

          Placard with Boris Johnson as a clown

          Dictators, media and mobility: erosion of identity, sustenance and safety

          close up on a child's eye

          Racism and misogyny where there should have been safeguarding and security

        No Result
        View All Result
        • Home
        • News
          • All
          • Brexit
          • Education
          • Environment
          • European News
          • Health
          • Politics
          • Science
          • UK News
          • World News
          woman on boat

          Where have all the EU citizens gone, long time passing…?

          to seek asylum is not a crime

          Momentous week ahead for women trapped in detention in County Durham

          RMT official picket

          Rail strikes: is class solidarity back?

          Curfew bracelets

          Curfew bracelets

          Sign saying welcome refugees

          World refugee day 2022

          Söke

          Reflections on Söke and lessons to learn

          Chi Onwurah backs Mencap campaign

          Chi Onwurah backs Mencap “Listen to us” campaign

          Nigel Todd

          Nigel Todd remembered: a socialist legacy

          Taj mahal

          Passage to India: box set

          Trending Tags

          • Ukraine
        • Culture
          • All
          • Animation
          • Books
          • Illustrations & More
          • Music
          • Performance
          • Poetry
          • Social Media
          • Theatre
          • TV & Radio
          doctorbird

          Doctorbird (Jamaica 1998)

          Curfew bracelets

          Curfew bracelets

          Söke

          Reflections on Söke and lessons to learn

          Visitors in the former Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland

          Seventeen Nineteen: Hidden Stories in Sunderland church

        • Lifestyle
          • All
          • Fashion
          • Food & Drink
          • Health & Fitness
          gymnast

          Culture of fear in British gymnastics uncovered by the Whyte Review

          Kennedy and Rhind

          Kennedy and Rhind: more time to enjoy a North East favourite

          Hoppings

          The Hoppings is back in Newcastle!

          Chi Onwurah MP

          Chi backs watchdog for fast fashion industry

          High Force waterfall

          Feeling the full force of Teesdale at the High Force Hotel

          A group of swimmers stand in the sea at sunrise.

          Interview with cold water swimmer Sarah Rowland

          Meat feast pizza

          Bella Italia launches new menu

          Ukrainian necklace

          Ukrainian Cultural Heritage: jewellery, accessories and some morale boosting art

          Leek and mushroom bake

          Leek and mushroom bake

          Trending Tags

          • Business
            • All
            • Economy
            • Rural
            • Technology
            • Trade
            • Voluntary Sector
            Friends Action North East

            Friends Action North East: supporting people’s lives

            Söke

            Reflections on Söke and lessons to learn

            Visitors in the former Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland

            Seventeen Nineteen: Hidden Stories in Sunderland church

            Refugee week

            Sing up for refugee week in Newcastle!

            Lachlan and Ryan

            Top sports stars step in to help male suicide charity

            Older person enjoying TikTok

            Go glammas! How older people are turning to TikTok to dispel myths about ageing

            A group of volunteers in high vis jackets, with their backs to the camera, operate a table giving out food distributions.

            Charity helps feed communities amidst the cost of living crisis

            young people talking

            Counselling support for young refugees in the North East

            Russia and China flags with two people shaking hands

            Russia’s quasi-colonial dependence on China

            Trending Tags

            • Region
              • All
              • Co. Durham
              • North East
              • Northumberland
              • Teesside
              • Tyneside
              • Wearside
              RMT official picket

              Rail strikes: is class solidarity back?

              Visitors in the former Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland

              Seventeen Nineteen: Hidden Stories in Sunderland church

              Nigel Todd

              Nigel Todd remembered: a socialist legacy

              Three boys stand in front of a man. All three of them are stood in front of a fire engine.

              Firefighting Uncle helping to raise £260,000 for nephew with rare cancer

              Kennedy and Rhind

              Kennedy and Rhind: more time to enjoy a North East favourite

              Campaigning for Samuel in Loftus Market Place, 1906 - "More Boots - less Beer."

              Opposition to the first immigration bill

              dead fish

              Defra on the defensive over toxic dumping in Tees Bay

              Secret Garden

              The Secret Garden at Hexham Abbey Gardens

              empty purse

              Cost of living crisis could put thousands more North East families into deeper poverty

              Trending Tags

              • Opinion
                Titanic coming out of Southampton

                The 110th anniversary of the Titanic’s departure

                There is an England

                There is an England

                Prime Minister Boris Johnson signs the Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union"

                The parody of disinformation: Boris Johnson on Ukraine and Brexit

                Boris Johnson’s comments on Ukraine and Brexit are an insult

                TV Agency staff jumping in the air

                The TV Agency celebrates 10th anniversary with global success

                North East of County Dublin

                North East of England and North East of County Dublin: Compare and contrast

                North Sea oil rig

                Copping out of COP: Ukraine, fossil fuels and nuclear fusion

                Placard with Boris Johnson as a clown

                Dictators, media and mobility: erosion of identity, sustenance and safety

                close up on a child's eye

                Racism and misogyny where there should have been safeguarding and security

              No Result
              View All Result
              North East Bylines
              No Result
              View All Result
              Home News Brexit

              Boris Johnson on “uncontrolled immigration”: making it up as he goes along

              Can the shortage of lorry drivers and other workers turn us into a country with high productivity, as claimed by Boris Johnson?

              Giuseppe BignardibyGiuseppe Bignardi
              11-10-2021 12:15
              in Brexit, Business, Economy, European News, Politics, UK, UK News
              Farmers have warned that up to 120,000 pigs face culling, with their carcasses being destroyed, due to a shortage of abattoir workers 
Image from wikimedia commons

              Farmers have warned that up to 120,000 pigs face culling, with their carcasses being destroyed, due to a shortage of abattoir workers Image from wikimedia commons

              Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
              ADVERTISEMENT

              Boris Johnson was accused of cakeism, when he claimed that there would be no downsides to his hard Brexit policies.

              We now have evidence that it is not really possible “to have your cake and eat it”. Trade with the EU is no longer frictionless, thus resulting in a drop of UK exports. The current workforce crisis is also due in part to Brexit.

              The sectors affected by staff shortages include hospitality, construction and haulage. Some farmers have been unable to harvest crops because there are no longer seasonal workers, whereas others had to cull their pigs because of a staffing crisis in abattoirs.

              Worryingly, the NHS waiting lists are getting longer because we do not have enough doctors and nurses: it is no longer easy to recruit from the EU. In a session of a parliamentary committee the MPs were told that cancer services are hampered by a staff shortage and the British Medical Association has warned that the NHS in England is short of 50,000 doctors.

              The social care sector crisis is due to inadequate funding and inadequate staff numbers. Boris Johnson claims he has fixed social care, but he has done nothing of the sort. Most of the funds raised through an increase in national insurance contributions will go to the NHS or towards reducing the costs met by those who need social care. There is very little left to improve the capacity and to fill the vacancies.

              Increasing wages is usually a good strategy to fill vacancies but not when the vacancies are for specialist jobs or across many sectors.

              Brexit has caused a staff shortage in a many occupations including lorry drivers.
              Image from wikimedia commons

              Neither does it help announcing time-limited work permits for HGV drivers expiring before Christmas. Not many would come from the EU for such a short period of time. Furthermore, as the experience with recruiting nurses suggests, an additional offer of paid travel and arranged accommodation is critical.

              Apart from cakeism, what defines Boris Johnson’s policies is making it up as he goes along. Faced with a workforce crisis, for which he had failed to plan, he now pretends this has always been part of his masterplan to bring about a new “high-wage, high-productivity economy”.

              Boris Johnson’s enthusiasm for high wages only applies when others have to pay. He has actually imposed a pay freeze on many public sector workers whilst removing the £20 universal credit uplift from 6 million families.

              During the Brexit referendum campaign few were worried about freedom of movement within the EU. The infamous “breaking point” poster used by Farage showed a column of desperate asylum-seekers: this was a humanitarian crisis and nothing to do with the EU

              Faced with the current workforce crisis Boris Johnson has claimed that he would not reach for an imaginary “uncontrolled immigration lever”.

              In EU member states few would see freedom of movement as “uncontrolled immigration”.  Almost all of the EU member states have advanced economies: workforce migrates across the EU to fill vacancies, which is of mutual benefit.

              A common perception amongst EU citizens is that free trade would mostly benefit strong exporters, like UK and Germany, but with the addition of freedom of movement and regional development policies (the EU-funded support for poorer regions, some in the UK) then you have a European Union from which all can benefit.

              The economist Kimberley Clausing has argued that immigration usually has a positive impact on the economy. What creates unemployment is technology change, as certain skills are no longer required, but this can be addressed with funded retraining and lifelong learning.

              In developed countries migration goes in both ways: in 2015  about 4.9 million people born in the UK had emigrated to live in other countries.

              Can the shortage of lorry drivers and other workers turn us into a country with high productivity, as claimed by Boris Johnson?

              Interestingly, according to the House of Commons Library, in 2019 both France and Germany had significantly higher productivity than the UK, being seemingly unaffected by the EU’s freedom of movement.

              Higher wages driven only by a shortage of labour may actually harm the economy with worsening inflation, lower investment, and the loss of some economic activities.

              ADVERTISEMENT
              Previous Post

              Angels of the North: interview with Bev and Sammy Jo

              Next Post

              Brexit crisis continues with bus driver shortages

              Giuseppe Bignardi

              Giuseppe Bignardi

              Giuseppe Bignardi is a retired Microbiology/Infection NHS Consultant

              Related Posts

              woman on boat
              Brexit

              Where have all the EU citizens gone, long time passing…?

              byStina Müller
              June 27, 2022
              to seek asylum is not a crime
              Politics

              Momentous week ahead for women trapped in detention in County Durham

              byNorth East Bylines
              June 26, 2022
              RMT official picket
              Politics

              Rail strikes: is class solidarity back?

              byAde JBones Van Vliet
              June 26, 2022
              Curfew bracelets
              Illustrations & More

              Curfew bracelets

              bySuzy Varty
              June 24, 2022
              Sign saying welcome refugees
              Politics

              World refugee day 2022

              byCarol Westall
              June 24, 2022
              Next Post
              Photo by Alex Noble 
Licenced by creative commons

              Brexit crisis continues with bus driver shortages

              Want to support us?

              Can you help North East Bylines to grow and become more sustainable with a regular donation, no matter how small?  

              DONATE

              Sign up to our newsletter

              If you would like to receive the North East Bylines regular newsletter, straight talking direct to your inbox, click the button below.

              NEWSLETTER

              LATEST

              woman on boat

              Where have all the EU citizens gone, long time passing…?

              June 27, 2022
              to seek asylum is not a crime

              Momentous week ahead for women trapped in detention in County Durham

              June 26, 2022
              RMT official picket

              Rail strikes: is class solidarity back?

              June 26, 2022
              gymnast

              Culture of fear in British gymnastics uncovered by the Whyte Review

              June 25, 2022
              doctorbird

              Doctorbird (Jamaica 1998)

              June 25, 2022
              Curfew bracelets

              Curfew bracelets

              June 24, 2022

              MOST READ

              woman on boat

              Where have all the EU citizens gone, long time passing…?

              June 27, 2022
              to seek asylum is not a crime

              Momentous week ahead for women trapped in detention in County Durham

              June 26, 2022
              RMT official picket

              Rail strikes: is class solidarity back?

              June 26, 2022
              gymnast

              Culture of fear in British gymnastics uncovered by the Whyte Review

              June 25, 2022

              BROWSE BY TAGS

              Beach Brexit Business castle leazes climate activism Co. Durham cost of living crisis Culture defra democracy ducklings Economy Education Environment fire and rescue firefighter Food & Drink food poverty Health Health & Care Home Affairs just stop oil Lifestyle Local Lockdown Northumberland Peace Performance Politics rescue Science Social Media Teesside TV & Radio Tynemouth Tyneside Ukraine volunteer Wearside

              North East Bylines is a regional online newspaper that supports citizen journalism. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in the North East and beyond.

              Learn more about us

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Contact
              • About
              • Letters
              • Donate
              • Privacy
              • Bylines network
              • Shop

              © 2022 North East Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Home
              • News
                • Brexit
                • Education
                • Environment
                • UK News
                • Transport
                • World News
              • Politics
              • Opinion
              • Lifestyle
                • Culture
                • Music
                • Poetry
              • Business
                • Economy
                • Technology
                • Trade
              • Donate
              • Newsletter sign up
              • Boriiis Cartoons
              • Authors

              © 2022 North East Bylines. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              Welcome Back!

              Login to your account below

              Forgotten Password?

              Retrieve your password

              Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

              Log In