THE CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer has promised Ilford North businesses a Tory-led Brexit will not stop them getting the workers they need.
Minister Philip Hammond made the assurances at a meeting of business owners, employees, and apprentices at Hainault Business Park in Fowler Road today (Thursday, June 1).
Speaking at South Eastern Electrical (SEE) on a visit to back Conservative candidate Lee Scott, Mr Hammond said: “I cannot envisage the post-EU regime will be any more onerous than it is now.
“Brexit will mean businesses will have to go through a process to get workers in from the EU.
“They won’t be coming by right as they are now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be coming.
“Businesses are already going through those processes for non-EU workers, and they will tell you it’s not a problem.”
Mr Hammond added that securing tariff-free access to the EU’s single market is one of his main priorities in the negotiations, which are due to start soon after the election result on June 8.
He said: “Just because we are no longer part of the political body of the European Union, it doesn’t mean we don’t want to trade with them or be good neighbours to them.
“Tariff-free access in both directions is our absolutely our priority, for consumers and workers.”
When quizzed by one business owner on the potential economic slump during the negotiations, Mr Hammond admitted investment has been “slower than we would’ve liked” since the referendum result.
He therefore wants to “send out clear, positive signals at the earliest stage possible” to maintain consumer confidence before the UK comes away with a deal.
He also promised businesses they will see start to see Brexit's benefits “pretty quickly” after the UK officially leaves the EU in 2019, and will see how the negotiations are taking shape later this year.
Both Mr Scott and Mr Hammond stressed the Tories are an “instinctively low tax party”, but could not promise a ban on tax rises until the results of the Taylor Review into the changing nature of how we work.
Mr Scott said: “Philip Hammond has seen the importance of Ilford North.
“He knows we need to look at the people we need to come and work here, and what we have to do to make sure our economy grows.
“These negotiations aren’t going to be easy, but with investment in apprenticeships and strong leadership in getting a Brexit deal, our country will go from strength to strength.”
His Labour rival Wes Streeting slammed Mr Hammond as a “terrible Chancellor for small businesses in Ilford North” and said he has "not chosen to prioritise the economy in Brexit".
He said: “He tried to hike up National Insurance for the self-employed, and now he’s planning to tie them up in red tape with quarterly online tax returns."
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