Deadlock in Westminster

Britain unveils immigration proposals aimed at winning over Brexit hardliners as preparations are being made for a no-deal outcome.

London: Britain publishes proposals for an EU immigration crackdown after Brexit as business groups warn the economy is not ready for Britain to crash out of the European Union without a divorce agreement in place.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid said visas would be introduced for EU nationals arriving after Britain leaves the bloc and the new system would be based on skills, not nationality, putting EU and non-EU citizens on the same footing.

“It will be a system that will bring net migration down to more sustainable levels,” he told BBC radio yesterday, although he said there was “no specific target” for the reduction.

He said he hoped the new measures would put more pressure on employers “to look at the domestic workforce first”.

Javid did not commit to an annual salary threshold for EU immigrants – a highly contested proposal – but said it could be “£30,000 (RM158,499) or thereabouts”.

He said the threshold could be lowered to encourage foreign students to stay and work in the UK and for certain parts of the economy in which a labour shortage could be proven.

Many employers, including the National Health Service, have

£ warned that 30,000 is too high and will severely limit their ability to hire EU nationals such as nurses.

The immigration proposals are aimed at winning over Brexit hardliners who have resisted voting in favour of the deal that Prime Minister Theresa May has struck with EU leaders.

But they will cause anger in parts of Britain, such as London, that have benefitted from EU immigration.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the government’s approach was “misguided” and “risks doing profound damage to growth, jobs and communities across London and the UK”.

May has vowed to end free movement of people from Europe, saying that this was one of the main reasons that Britons voted to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum.

Immigration levels have already fallen since the referendum.

The announcement came as May prepared to hold her final question and answer session of the year in parliament, where she will face more trenchant criticism of her decision to delay a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal.

The deadlock in Westminster has raised the prospects of either a second referendum or of a no-deal Brexit when the negotiating time runs out on March 29 next year.

The government on Tuesday announced no-deal plans, which include drastic measures such as stockpiling imported chemicals to ensure safe drinking water and special flights from Europe to ensure continued supply of vital medicine.

The prospect of such an exit has caused widespread concern.

Britain’s five leading business associations yesterday warned that companies have been “watching in horror as politicians have focused on factional disputes rather than practical steps that business needs to move forward”.