DEBATE: Is it acceptable that EU migrants will be able to enter the UK without border checks after Brexit?

NO – John Longworth, co-chair of Leave Means Leave.

When the people of Britain voted to leave the EU they did so for a variety of reasons. Not least among these was the desire to control our borders. Defence, security, and the control of borders is the first duty of government. It is the contract between those who govern and the governed. It is the reason in the first place that societies were created, that free people acquiesced to be governed. Security is not the only driver for border control however. It is estimated that every migrant in a low paid job costs Britain on average, around £3,500 pa. Other migrants are in the black economy. All this has contributed greatly to the downward pressure on wages. The unlimited supply of cheap labour has led to less training and investment and therefore, to low productivity growth. Irrespective of whether migrants have work permits, every civilised country has a system of checking people when they arrive and when they leave, and understanding why they are in the country. If the government gives away this fundamental duty, it will confirm that many of its Brexit policy proposals appear to be adding up to a massive fraud on the electorate.

August 18th, 2017: City AM