Wetherspoons chief suggests immigration authorities enforce 'points system'
THE Brexit-backing chairman of pub chain JD Wetherspoon’s believes the future success of Britain’s economy will rely on inward immigration.
Tim Martin supports Australian-style “points” immigration system
Tim Martin said he does not deny that immigration benefits the UK, but he was keen to see it come under domestic control and ensure it is “subject to the will of the people”.
“Immigration is a good thing but you don’t need to give your democracy away to get what you want,” he told Kirsty Young, the host of Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4.
“You need a slightly rising population as the years go by to have a successful economy and a successful country.”
He said an Australian-style “points system” would still help make up for a low birth rate in Britain.
Tim Martin did not deny that immigration has a benefit to the UK
Tim Martin is eager to see immigration come under domestic control
Immigration is a good thing but you don’t need to give your democracy away to get what you want
The pub chain employs between 2,000 and 3,000 staff from other EU countries, reflecting the high number of foreign nationals that help run Britain’s bars and restaurants, which are expected to suffer if access to foreign workers is restricted as a result of Brexit.
Mr Martin last month issued half a million beer mats across Wetherspoon’s near-900 UK pubs featuring a bespoke “manifesto” for a successful Brexit, including the right of citizenship for legal EU migrants.
He chose A Dance To The Music Of Time by Anthony Powell as the book he would take to the desert island, with a surfboard his luxury item.
Among the discs he picked were Bob Marley’s Natural Mystic and Dylan Thomas’s Poem In October, read by Richard Burton