Kate Forbes of the Scottish National party claims that the UK government’s immigration white paper could have serious and long-term ramifications on businesses and communities in rural areas of the UK such as the Highlands as it has the potential to cut the number of workers from Europe eligible to work in Scotland by up to 85%.
Forbes called out what she perceived to be the myopic view of city-dwelling politicians who, she claimed, spent much of their lives in densely populated cities and so were out of touch with the reality of life in the more sparsely populated countryside. She also denounced the government’s post-Brexit £30,000 annual salary cap – reported to be strongly favoured by Theresa May – as being too high in a country where the average wage is in the lower £20,000s.
Forbes, the Member of Scottish Parliament for the constituency of Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, which includes some of the most rugged and beautiful swathes of the Highlands, claims the area is facing a demographic time bomb which will only be compounded by Brexit. It is estimated that the area could lose more than a quarter of its population by 2046 if current trends are left unchecked.
