The UK government will publish an immigration white paper later this year including proposals for to introduce visas aimed at high-skilled workers as part of its push to kickstart growth, Rachel Reeves has announced.
The chancellor told a breakfast event at the World Economic Forum in Davos: “We are going to look again at routes for the highest skilled people, particularly in the areas of AI and life sciences.”
Ministers have repeatedly said they to reduce overall migration, with Keir Starmer accusing the Conservative government of conducting an “open borders experiment”. But Labour is keen to show the UK remains open to high-skilled workers. Asked whether – like Tony Blair’s Labour government – she was relaxed about people becoming wealthy, Reeves said, “absolutely”.
The chancellor was appearing alongside the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, and both are meeting a string of business leaders at the week-long summit in the Swiss ski resort. The pair repeatedly drummed home the message that they will make what Reeves called “pro-growth decisions in the national interest”.
The chancellor also dropped a heavy hint that she is preparing to give the green light to a third runway at Heathrow, as reports have suggested. Reeves said she would not comment on specific decisions, but went on to stress the importance of not allowing objectors to veto infrastructure necessary for growth.
“The answer can’t always be no, and that has been the problem in Britain for a long time,” she said.
She also confirmed that the departure of Marcus Bokkerink as chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was linked to differences of opinion over the regulator’s approach to growth. It emerged on Tuesday that he had been forced to step down after an intervention by Labour ministers and would be replaced by the former Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr.
Reeves said Bokkerink had “recognised that this government has got a different strategic approach when it comes to regulation, and he recognised it was time for him to move on and make way for somebody who does share the mission and the strategic direction that this government are taking”.
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She added: “Growth is our number one mission. We want our regulators to be part of that mission.”
Several regulators were called in by ministers last week and urged to spell out how they would adapt their approach to increase growth. It is understood they had concerns about the CMA’s approach to key sectors they see as central to generating growth, including tech and financial services.
