Britain’s jobs boom and Europe’s failure

The persistent refusal of the UK economy to collapse in ruins following the vote to leave the European Union must be rather frustrating to diehard Remainers, but, to the rest of us, statistics showing unemployment at an 11-year low are quite cheering. That more people have jobs in Britain than ever before – 31.8 million – is another reminder of the success of open markets and labour laws that curb the power of trade unions.

Of course, some of the rise in employment is accounted for by people from outside the UK. The number of Eastern European migrants employed in Britain rose by almost 50,000 between July and September. That is testament to the strength of the UK economy, but also raises a question about whether EU citizens are coming to the UK in order to establish residency before Brexit.

The status of around three million EU citizens in the UK when we leave is still uncertain. Some argue that any EU national resident in the UK on the day we leave should be entitled to stay; others say that right should be conferred only on those in the country before June’s referendum. Theresa May says she must first have assurances about the future status of Britons living elsewhere in the EU before she can say how she will deal with Europeans here. The Prime Minister’s intention is honourable but there is a risk of unintended consequences, not just by encouraging migrants to enter the UK before the legal position is decided, but also in causing uncertainty and distress for people who live and work here legally.

Mrs May faces allegations from EU leaders that her Brexit policy lacks clarity, charges that reek of hypocrisy given the political crisis that grips the continent. Here, a remark by Angela Merkel was telling. Even as she hinted at changing EU welfare rules to deny benefits to migrants, the German chancellor insisted that the basic right of free movement could not be compromised to suit Britain, “because everyone else will then want these exceptions”. In other words, she admits that voters across Europe want to end the free movement laws their leaders insist on upholding.

Britain alone has the chance to create an immigration system that allows this country to admit and retain the best talent while meeting the public’s demand for controls. Mrs May should waste no time in setting out the principles that will underpin that system, including a clear statement about the status of EU nationals living here today.