Labour is planning to launch a policy allowing unskilled migrants into the UK following Brexit if the party wins the June General Election, according to a draft policy paper leaked to the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail.
According to Personnel Today, the paper suggests that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn would bring back a special UK work permit scheme targeted at people seeking “low skilled, unskilled and seasonal work” in Britain.
The proposed UK visas would be labelled Tier 3, and mirror one of the five tiers of immigration originally drawn up by the Labour Government in 2008, with the aim of attracting foreign workers into the UK to fill low paying roles considered unappealing by British workers.
Reports of the leaked policy also reveal that Labour plans to remove rules that prevent foreign spouses from gaining a spouse visa in the UK if their partner earns less than £18,600 per year.
Although the plans did not appear in the final published manifesto ahead of the election, Mr Corbyn has previously hinted at plans to introduce a “fair immigration system”. However, the leaked policy does contradict the party’s recent pledge to ensure UK employers do not undercut workers in Britain when recruiting from overseas.
Commenting on the document leak, a Labour spokesman refused to either confirm or deny that the policy is part of the party’s future plans should they win in June. “As part of our work in exploring the options, a number of discussion papers have been produced,” they said. “This is part of one such document. It is not a statement of Labour policy, which is set out in our manifesto.”