Harvesting lettuce in Lincolnshire: ‘… as if society’s woes would magically disappear if only there were fewer Romanians picking strawberries.
This Brexit leak shines a light on our collective lunacy about immigration.
The UK Home Office document make two mistakes. First, they rest on a common delusion: that, somehow, it is the presence of migrants that is chiefly responsible for society’s current woes – as if globalisation, outsourcing and automation would all magically disappear if only there were fewer Romanians picking strawberries in Lincolnshire.
Whoever leaked this document has done us all a great service. True, we don’t know what motive led the UK government blueprint for post-Brexit immigration to be handed to the Guardian. It could have been done by an enthusiast for the plan, keen to ensure that there’s no backsliding and that ministers stand firm. Or, more likely, the leaker was appalled by a document that sees migrants as a menace to be repelled – and hoped public disclosure might generate enough opposition to kill the plan off.
