Boris Johnson said that “people will not accept demographic change at this rate, even in the most liberal countries and capitals.” Photo: Ammar Awad/Reuters
The wage threshold for foreign workers coming to Britain should be raised to £40,000 to curb record levels of migration, Boris Johnson has said.
Former Prime Minister admitted. A significant increase from the current £26,000 a year would spark protests from those who made their fortunes from cheap foreign labour, but argue it would force industries to invest in training domestic workers to fill the gaps.
His intervention will put pressure on his successor Rishi Sunak, who is working on a package of measures after data on Thursday showed net migration hit a record high of 745,000 in the year to December 2022, three times the pre-Brexit level.< /p >
Increasing the salary threshold is among the proposals being considered by No 10, although it is expected to be at a more modest level than proposals by Johnson and Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, who campaigned for a £45,000 rise sterling.
In his Daily Mail column, Mr Johnson said net migration figures were “too, too high”.
“People won't accept demographic change at this rate, even in the most liberal countries and capitals,” he said he.
“Look what's happening in Dublin, where the people are so nice and happy.” the city seemed to be in the grip of race riots. Look at Holland, where clearly Islamophobic candidate Geert Wilders just won 35 seats in parliament and could yet become prime minister.
“It's time to increase the minimum income you must earn to get a UK work visa.”
Mr Johnson said net migration figures showed the salary threshold was set “too low” at £26,000 – not much more than the living wage – when it was originally set by the migration advisory committee. This has been masked during the pandemic, when migration has been largely suppressed.
“The minimum income for most types of migrant workers coming to the UK must now be £40,000 or more – because that's right for migrant workers and for the entire British workforce. When we do this, I will tell you what will happen. A lot of very rich people in this country will go crazy,” he said.
“They will protest that they cannot afford to run their business if they have to pay their foreign workers so much money, and they will simultaneously complain that the British are too idle and helpless to do such work.
“I say: tough. It's time to call them out. For decades we have witnessed the failure of corporate Britain to invest: in new factories, in new research and technology, and, above all, a criminal failure to invest in the skills and potential of our home workforce.”
Mr Johnson's proposal goes further than Robert Jenrick, the immigration secretary, who proposed raising the salary threshold to £35,000 a year – the average salary level in the UK – as part of a five-point plan to tackle net migration.
No 10 is also considering limiting the number of dependents foreign care workers can bring with them to the UK and waiving them. the skills shortage list, which sees firms pay foreign workers 20 per cent below the going rate for jobs where there are skills shortages.
Mr Sunak admitted net migration levels were “too high” , adding: “They should decline to more sustainable levels.” On Thursday Ms Braverman called the figures “unsustainable” and a “slap in the face” to the British public.
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