Politics

‘Brexit’ trends as Tim Martin calls for easing of migration restrictions

Brexit was trending on Twitter this morning following news that Tim Martin has called for more EU migration to help tackle the shortage of bar staff working in the UK.

The Wetherspoons boss, who campaigned for Brexit and even printed pro-leave material on 1.9 million beer mats, urged prime minister Boris Johnson to introduce a “reasonably liberal immigration system” controlled by Britain rather than the European Union.

He recommended the government adopt a visa scheme for workers from the bloc to help the country’s pubs and restaurants hire more staff as they recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

It comes as roughly one in ten hospitality workers are thought to have left the sector over the past 12 months, leading to an estimated shortfall of about 188,000 workers, according to recruitment website Caterer.com.

Social media was abuzz with reaction following the Telegraph interview. Here’s what people had to say:

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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Tags: Brexit