London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

UK Home Secretary says Britain can train lorry drivers and fruit pickers to reduce immigration

UK Home Secretary says Britain can train lorry drivers and fruit pickers to reduce immigration

There is “no good reason” why the UK cannot train enough lorry drivers and fruit pickers among its own citizens to reduce immigration, Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the National Conservatism Conference on Monday.
Britain’s horticulture industry has complained of labor shortages since the country left the EU, a trend that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the BBC reported. The government responded by increasing the number of temporary visas for seasonal agricultural workers by 15,000 this year.

However, on the opening day of the three-day conference in London, Braverman told delegates that Brexit will allow the development of a high-skilled, high-wage economy “that is less dependent on low-skilled foreign labor.”

She argued it is “not racist” for a nation to want to control its own borders, and the UK must not “forget how to do things for ourselves.”

"There is no good reason why we can’t train up enough HGV (heavy goods vehicle) drivers, butchers or fruit pickers," she said.

Labour leader Keir Starmer condemned the home secretary for her comments.

Speaking during a during a meeting of Labour MPs and peers, he said: “When Suella Braverman says that British workers have forgotten how to do things for themselves, it’s nothing new. It’s how they (the Conservatives) respond to everything: Duck responsibility, blame everyone else.

“She’s told us their vision of the future of work in this country: Let them pick fruit. Well, our party will never have such low ambitions for working people.”

Starmer described the National Conservatism Conference, which was organized by a US-based right-wing group, as a “Mad Hatter’s tea party” attended by politicians who have a “national dislike of this country and its people, from north to south.”

According to the Centre for Policy Studies, the UK’s net migration figure for 2022, which will be revealed next week, is expected to be at least 700,000. Braverman has previously said her “ultimate aspiration” is to reduce the number to fewer than 100,000.

Some leading Conservatives believe that increased immigration is required in the short term to improve economic growth. Nigel Huddleston, the UK minister of state for international trade, told Times Radio that “every now and again we also need more people to come into the country” but the “key thing” is to maintain control.

“In the long term, we need immigration to come down because that’s what has been causing some challenges in local areas for a long period of time,” he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×