Perth and Kinross councilor Peter Barrett has claimed the Home Secretary “knows nothing about our local soft fruit industry.” Barrett was responding to Suella Braverman’s suggestion the UK train its own fruit pickers to cut immigration. NFU Scotland’s horticulture chair also said the Home Secretary’s comments showed “a significant degree of naivety.”
Last week, Ms. Braverman stated: “…we need to get overall immigration numbers down, and we mustn’t forget how to do things for ourselves. There is no good reason why we can’t train up enough HGV drivers, butchers, or fruit pickers.”
Responding to the comments, Liberal Democrat councilor Peter Barrett said: “The Home Secretary knows nothing about our local soft fruit industry. In Perth and Kinross, produce is rotting before it can reach the shelves because farms cannot get the staff they need. She is talking complete bananas.”
“The Conservatives’ anti-migrant rhetoric has made the UK less appealing to workers, and their anti-migrant policies have made it far harder for businesses to get the staff they need. The Home Secretary may be keen to pull up the drawbridge, but farmers are not. The Conservatives have left our farms in a jam.”
Source: thecourier.co.uk