Philip Hammond says UK needs ‘hundreds of thousands of foreign workers’ to plug gap

Former chancellor Philip Hammond says the UK will need to bring in hundreds of thousands of foreign workers to plug gaps in the labour market.

Talking to Andrew Marr, the former Conservative MP urged the government to open the labour market if the UK is going to prosper.

The UK economy unexpectedly grew in November, reducing the risk of the country entering a recession.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded an increase of 0.1 per cent as the services sector remained in growth despite the soaring cost of living.

It nevertheless represented a slowdown in growth after GDP increased by 0.5 per cent in October.

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.