Brexit-Backing Next CEO Now Wants More Overseas Workers After Campaigning Against The EU

And people won't let him forget it.
Lord Simon Wolfson claimed that the current arrangement is not the Brexit he wanted
Lord Simon Wolfson claimed that the current arrangement is not the Brexit he wanted
BBC

A Tory peer who was a prominent Brexiteer is now calling for “productive migration” to help the country’s growth – and everyone is making the same point.

Lord Wolfson, the CEO of Next, told the BBC this week: “We have got people queuing up to pick crops that are rotting in the fields, to work in warehouses that otherwise wouldn’t be operable – and we have to take a different approach to economically productive migration.

″You have to control immigration, but you have to control it in such a way that it benefits our economy rather than cripples it.”

He added that in respects to immigration, it’s “definitely not the Brexit that I wanted” – and said the “vast majority of the country” feels the same.

″We’re all stuck in this Brexit argument. What we have to remember is what post-Brexit Britain looks like is not the preserve of those people who voted Brexit. It’s for all of us to decide,” Wolfson said.

Back in 2016, the chief executive was pushing for an exit from the bloc, meaning the end of freedom of movement between the UK and the other 27 EU members.

He claimed at the time: “Leaving the EU doesn’t have to mean isolation, it could actually mean the opposite but it depends on our tone and objectives. Europe is just one piece of the jigsaw.”

He pushed for the UK to redefine its relationship with countries outside of its nearest neighbours.

Meanwhile, the economy is struggling and the government is looking to introduce substantial tax rises and spending cuts to plug the “fiscal black hole” in public finances.

But Wolfson’s solution to these problems has not gone down well on Twitter, as everyone is remembering his Brexit credentials...

hard to summon up enormous pity for Brexiteer entrepreneurs moaning about tighter post-Brexit immigration controls

— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) November 10, 2022

Listening to arch Brexiteer Lord Wolfson demanding more EU workers are allowed into the UK has to be peak irony for 2022.

— Rhoda Miller (@RhodaMiller14) November 10, 2022

Hard to stomach Next’s Lord Wolfson complaining this isn’t the #Brexit he voted for and saying we need more immigration. The entire campaign he supported was won on curbing immigration. He also wants a market solution - maybe single market and customs union? https://t.co/8ZwLfZ2zZd

— Craig Oliver (@CraigOliver100) November 10, 2022

Simon Wolfson needs to take a long look at himself. He backed Brexit and now complains the labour market is not functioning. He was part of the disaster, part of the problem....

— David Yelland (@davidyelland) November 10, 2022

Next CEO Lord Wolfson tells BBC ‘this is not the Brexit I wanted’ – business live...🤪🤪🤪🤡🤡🤡
'NO SHIT SHERLOCK!' https://t.co/tAdcaaJIGd

— Steve Bray Activist Against Brexit +Corrupt Tories (@snb19692) November 10, 2022

Lord Wolfson @BBCr4today IV absurd

"In respect to immigration it's def not the Brexit I wanted"

So he wants soft Brexit & EU rule taking?

He still doesn't get it. There isn't a version of Brexit that "works". It is & always has been an exercise in damage limitation. Full stop

— Mujtaba Rahman (@Mij_Europe) November 10, 2022

If only someone would have said something six years ago.

— David M Barnett (@davidmbarnett) November 10, 2022

Hearing pro-Brexit business person complain about immigration being too low (Lord Wolfson on Today programme right now). What did they think was going to happen?

— Sonia Sodha (@soniasodha) November 10, 2022

Two headlines:

‘Hard Brexit is good for us says retail king, Lord Wolfson’
-2019

‘’Next boss Lord Wolfson says UK needs more foreign workers’
-Today

— Paul Johnson (@paul__johnson) November 10, 2022

'So you're a CEO who backed Brexit and now you want immigration controls relaxed because of a shortage of workers' pic.twitter.com/6GQwrStHpn

— Toby Earle 🇺🇦 (@TobyonTV) November 10, 2022

Lord Wolfson, owner of drab clothes shop Next: "We've done a Brexit by mistake!" https://t.co/GV9z1HZBbw pic.twitter.com/vRtcGuaudk

— Will Black (@WillBlackWriter) November 10, 2022

What Lord Wolfson ought to say is this:

“Sorry. I got it wrong. All other Brexiters got it wrong. From my elevated position in society I will henceforth argue to reverse Brexit and will spend much of my fortune on the same.”

— Carlton Reid (@carltonreid) November 10, 2022

In response to Wolfson’s comments, the government said it had delivered on “taking back control of our immigration system”.

According to the BBC, a spokesperson added: “Unemployment is at record lows and it’s vital we continue to bring in excellent key workers the UK needs, including thousands of NHS doctors and nurses through the Health and Care Visa and the Seasonal Workers scheme which brings in the workforce our farmers and growers need.”

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