New rules ‘devastating’ for Scotland

UK Government plans to end freedom of movement and introduce a new points-based immigration system will be “devastating” for Scotland, the first minister has warned.

Nicola Sturgeon criticised the proposals, which have also been condemned by Scotland’s care and tourism sectors.

Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, claimed UK ministers were “in cloud cuckoo land” while the Scottish Tourism Alliance branded the plans “the biggest threat to Scotland’s tourism industry”.

Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “It is impossible to overstate how devastating this UK gov policy will be for Scotland’s economy. Our demographics mean we need to keep attracting people here. This makes it so much harder.”

Ben Macpherson, the Scottish Government’s migration minister, said: “These proposals are nonsensical and will be incredibly damaging in the short term, and really make it challenging for us to deal with our demographic challenges in the medium and longer term.

“The UK Government is really engaging in dog-whistle politics here by painting immigration as a negative concept when we have all been enriched, financially and culturally, by inward migration and it is incredibly important for our future.”

To address the demographic challenges Scotland faces with its ageing population, Ms Sturgeon last month put forward plans for a distinctive “Scottish visa”.

But this was rejected by the UK Government, whose new immigration policy statement argues that the UK economy needs to move away from its current reliance on “cheap labour from Europe”.

Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said the policy “appears now be the biggest threat to Scotland’s tourism industry.”

He went on: “It is more important than ever that we’re able to attract and retain people, particularly in the Highlands and islands and other rural areas.

“We need a differentiated system that is responsive to the specific needs of our tourism industry, our demography and our wider economy and sectors.”

Nicola Sturgeon: ‘Our demographics mean we need to keep attracting people’