Business Leader Urges UK PM Sunak to Increase Economic Immigration

Tony Danker, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, watches Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaking during the CBI annual conference at the Vox Conference Centre in Birmingham, England, on Nov. 21, 2022. Jacob King/PA Media

The UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday faced pressure to increase immigration to plug labour shortages in the UK.

Attending the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in Birmingham, Sunak was urged to agree on a “new deal” on immigration, allowing more skilled workers to enter the UK on fixed-term visas.

The prime minister said the end of free movement of labour following the UK’s exit of the European Union was partly to “rebuild public consent” in the UK’s immigration system, vowing to tackle illegal immigration to build up trust for “a system that allows businesses to access the best and brightest from around the world.”

Giving a keynote speech at the conference, CBI Director-General Tony Danker urged the government to “be honest with people,” saying, “we don’t have enough Brits to go around for the vacancies that exist, let alone having a skill mismatch.”

Danker argued that the economically inactive won’t be back into the labour market soon owing to the long NHS backlog and that it’s “unrealistic” to plug the gap with automation.

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s unemployment rate in the third quarter was 3.6 percent while the economic inactivity rate increased to 21.6 percent.

The ONS said half a million more people reported long-term sickness as the main reason for economic inactivity compared to in 2019 and that the trend had began before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it also said 69 percent of those who became inactive because of long-term sickness between the first quarter in 2021 and the second quarter in 2022 were already out of the labour market for another reason in the three months prior.

Danker called for a “new deal on immigration” that allows “economic migration in the areas where we aren’t going to get the people and skills at home anytime soon.”

“In return, we make those visas fixed term,” he said, adding that the shortage occupation list should not only go to the immigration minister, but also to the education secretary and businesses.

Speaking after Danker, Sunak didn’t comment on whether or not he plans to increase the number of immigrants.

“Part of the reason we ended free movement of labour was to rebuild public consent in our immigration system,” he said.

“If we’re going to have a system that allows businesses to access the best and brightest from around the world, we need to do more to give the British people trust and confidence that the system works and is fair. That means tackling illegal migration,” Sunak said, adding, “And that’s what I’m determined to do.”

Sunak said the government is launching a a programme to identify and attract the world’s top 100 young talents on artificial intelligence, saying the UK “cannot allow the world’s top AI talent to be drawn to America or China.”

Pressed by the BBC on whether he will loosen immigration rules, Sunak said he’s “determined to reduce the number of illegal migrants.”

“And if we’re doing that, then I do believe that we can and it’s right to ensure that the United Kingdom is a beacon for the world’s best and brightest,” he added.

Sunak also urged businesses to inform him of “pinch points” where skilled workers are needed.