“There is no such thing as low skilled work, just low paid work. All work is skilled when it is done well.” That was the scathing response to the government’s clampdown on low-skilled immigration from Labour’s shadow immigration minister Bell Ribeiro-Addy in parliament this week. It is a fair bet that many people in the construction industry agree.

The fact is that construction firms rely on large numbers of EU site workers – in London 28% of the workforce is from the EU – whose work may not be deemed skilled but is crucial to the delivery of projects. The home secretary’s points-based system effectively bars this type of worker from entering after 1 January 2021. It is estimated that 70% of those working here who are from the EU would not meet the new requirement for skilled workers.

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