Population of much of UK could fall if European migration is restricted, Amber Rudd told The population of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England could shrink if migration from Europe is restricted […]

The population of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England could shrink if migration from Europe is restricted after Brexit, government advisers have said.

They also warned that bringing in tough restrictions on EU workers would hit the economy and slow employment growth, and said employers regarded European migrants as more motivated and flexible than the domestic workforce.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is advising Home Secretary Amber Rudd on the impact of post-Brexit immigration rules on the economy.

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It said that Office for National Statistics projections “suggest that if EU net migration was zero, the population in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would stop growing and even fall in the next 20 years”.

It added: “Though the population of England would continue to grow, some Northern regions of England have similar projections to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Demography does not respect administrative and political borders.”

EU staff ‘better qualified’

In an interim report, the advisers said: “Lower migration would very likely lead to lower growth in total employment, and lower output growth.”

Based on interviews with more than 400 businesses and industry bodies, the MAC found that employers said they recruited European staff because they were better qualified and prepared to work longer hours – and not because they were cheaper.

Summarising employers’ views, it said many believed European migrant workers are “more motivated and flexible than UK-born workers”,with a greater willingness to work longer and unsociable hours, to welcome overtime and show a “consistently strong work ethic”.

The study concluded that the vast majority of employers do not deliberately seek to fill vacancies with migrant workers.

“They employ EEA migrants when they are the best or, sometimes, the only available candidate,” it said.

Staff shortages

According to evidence to the committee, 43 per cent of staff in restaurants, fast food stores, hotels and pubs come from outside the UK. There are already signs of shortages of low-skilled workers in this sector.

The Labour MP David Lammy, of the Best for Britain group, said: “Instead of taking jobs away from people living in the UK already, immigration helps to stimulate our economy.

“After Brexit we’re facing down the barrel of slower growth and, crucially, fewer jobs available. It might be politically unpopular, but the truth is that our economy needs migrants to fill the jobs that Brits won’t do or lack to the skills to do.”