07 September, 2017
Britain will end the free movement of labour immediately after Brexit and introduce measures to drive down the number of lower-skilled European Union migrants, a leaked government document published by the Guardian newspaper said on Tuesday.
As a result, it will be incredibly hard to reach agreement on the terms of the UK's EU secession by October, as they would effectively preclude the United Kingdom from staying in the single market and/or the European Economic Area.
The idea of a cap on numbers is floated as a way of "limiting the number of European Union citizens able to come to the United Kingdom to undertake low-skilled work".
Many who backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum were motivated by a desire to lower immigration levels.
Significant sectors of the Scottish economy, particularly fruit farming, the health service and fish processing, rely on immigrant labour, much of it from the EU.
But he added: "Equally we have to make sure that British companies are also prepared to train up British workers. The Home Office is not "taking back control" if it expects employers to do the immigration checks for them", Nevin said.
The 82-page Home Office document, marked "official sensitive", includes ideas such as forcing businesses to try to recruit in Britain before they are allowed to hire workers from overseas.
Jean Lambert, London's Green MEP, said the document embodied all the characteristics typical of Home Office immigration proposals "administratively complex, economically harmful, ideologically driven, and lacking in human compassion".
"We are minded to grant those in highly skilled occupations and who have a contract of employment of more than 12 months, a permit lasting three to five years".
SECRET proposals for tough immigration rules after Brexit have been revealed following a government leak last night.
The paper has been passed around senior government ministers, and there are reports of splits in the Cabinet, though the BBC's sources say it has not been signed off by the Prime Minister.
Theresa May's leaked proposals for immigration after Brexit have come under fierce criticism from politicians and business, with one MP saying that it was a "mean and cynical approach".
The documents, obtained by the Guardian, proposes that lower-skilled migrants would be allowed residency for a maximum of two years.
During the summer, ministers such as chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond and Brexit secretary David Davis made clear that they favoured a transitional arrangement after Brexit which will be as close to the status quo as possible.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady commented on the leaked proposals, "These plans would create an underground economy, encouraging bad bosses to exploit migrants and undercut decent employers offering good jobs".
