Dear Sir / Madam,

Re: Patrick Collinson I Like the EU, but Im voting out.

He makes very good points,but fails to consider the range of reasons for
low wages and abysmally high rents. Instead he like others prefers to blame
migrants as though it is the simple solution to all ill befalling this
wonderful country. Brittain has always had an issue with migration; from
pre-war immigration of Jews, post-war influx of immigrants from the
Commonwealth, to EU immigration. The issues of wages and housing were the
same then as they are now.
UK is the least regulated economy in continental Europe in terms of
financial services and housing. That started with Mrs.Thatcher and
continued through every Government both Labor and Conservative.
In relation to low pay. Most jobs created over the past 40 years are in
services, which by their nature is relatively low paid. British employers
including the NHS have been allowed to recruit workers abroad under payment
terms better than their counrty of origin, but less than UK. That
automatically means lower wages for all sections of the workforce, from
Dentists to lorry drivers to fruit pickers. A feeble Union movement
objected very little to the pay and conditions disparity between migrant
workers and domestic and have failed to protect their members. It is EU
legislation against employers recruiting at lesser conditions within other
EU countries that stopped the corrosive practice. If that still happens
then it is illegal. At the same time Private Sector workers accepted
without so much as a mumble longer hours, rubbish pensions and poor pay
whilst at the same time begrudging the willingness of the Public Sector to
fight for what they have had.
There has been precious little by way of manufacturing industry. Most of
those have moved to counrties where labor costs are massively lower than
UKs lowest paid. Hence Mr. Dyson has his products made elsewhere. Messrs
Gove, Johnston, Howard, Duncan-Smith, Farage and Ms Patel are on record as
wanting the British Economy and labour market to be more flexible. Does
that mean better pay and conditions or does it mean an Asian model of
increased working hours, fewer holidays and continued poor pay? I suspect
it to be the latter.
Again successive governments have not invested in skills training, so
employers seek those skills elsewhere, not just from the EU. Our NHS
recruits frequently from India, Phillipines, Guyana etc.. Instead of
training our own nurses and doctors, we steal the best from 3rd world
countries, because it is somehow cheaper to employ than to train. At the
same time we criticise and blame them for being here. Perhaps we should
send our medical and nursing students to India for training since they seem
to be able to do it cheaper and to the same standard.
The fact that successive Governments have not built sufficient housing,
that 1 million houses lie empty, that the purchase of second homes by Brits

for holiday making homes unaffordable for locals to that area within UK,
all push house prices up, is never mentioned; nor that all of it means
higher rental costs. Our attitude to rental also contributes to the upward
spiral. Rental is seen as a waste of money, unambitious and unaspirational.
So theres no motivation to even look at capping rents or making rental
more secure with long term tenancy like there is in Europe.
Concerns about migration are legimate and need to be addressed
comprehensively, not with soundbites that feed perception. The EU is not
responsible for decades of underinvestment in education, transport,
housing, health care or low union membership. Remain or leave the EU will
not change any of that.
When government no longer has the EU to scapegoat for its failings, and
Brexiters find their wages still low, rents still high, and housing still
scarce. Will they turn their anger towards a post-EU right wing
Conservative government who promised Nova Anglia, or migrants? History
tells us itll be the latter.