Leaders of Scottish Labour and Scottish Conservatives have called for the UK immigration numbers to fall, citing the mismatch between the skills system and migration system in the country as the reason. While speaking on the BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, both party leaders acknowledged the importance of the issue and said that the current immigration system was not working effectively for the country.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said that net migration numbers were too high, and there was a massive backlog in the country’s asylum system. He called for the migration system to consider workforce skill gaps and take adequate steps to bridge the skills requirement with investments in the sector, rather than relying on cheaper migration.
On the other hand, the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross commented on the need for Scotland to attract more migrants, and the government’s need to create conditions that would make Scotland an attractive place for people to live. While acknowledging that immigration policy was decided by the UK government, he called for Scotland’s Holyrood to use its powers to create a more effective and people-centric public service.
The SNP has called for the creation of a separate migration system for Scotland that values life, study, work and investment in the country. They have also criticised the demonisation of migrants and called for the abolition of the plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Additionally, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have called for an end to the hostile environment towards migrants and recommended investment towards clearing the country’s asylum backlog.
In conclusion, the immigration system is a growing concern in Scotland, especially with the mismatch between the skills system and migration requirements. The parties’ leaders have called for prompt action to address the existing skill gap and create a more efficient system that will attract more people to Scotland and enable businesses to grow
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