//We get rid of the good Europeans and we import unproven boat people from France.//
We didn’t “get rid” of anybody. Some chose to leave. Those who wanted to stay could (and the vast majority did).
As far as the lorry driver shortage goes, it’s time to put this to bed. There has been constant harping on here about the effect that Brexit has had on the lorry driver shortage. I have been suggesting that Brexit is not the principle cause and that pay and conditions in the sector are to blame. Here’s an interesting report:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/09/28/blame-haulage-industry-not-brexit-fuel-shortage-says-tory-mp/
It’s a Torygraph article so you may need to press “Escape” as it is loading. In case you cannot see it, here’s some salient points:
“Figures from the Office of National Statistics, show that of the 46,000 drivers who left the haulage industry between 2016 and 2020, only 9,000 - 19 per cent - were EU nationals.”
“National statistics also show the percentage of EU drivers in the UK workforce has remained steady since Brexit.”
Since 2016 the number of HGV drivers has dropped from 321,000 to 275,000. EU drivers made up 11.5% of the 321k and now make up 10.2% of the 275k. In 2016 the industry was already short of 60,000 drivers. It is now short of 100,000. There is scarcely any difference between the rate of loss among EU drivers and that of UK drivers. Hauliers cannot recruit young people into the job because the pay and conditions are so unattractive and the age profile of HGV drivers is steadily rising. The cause of this problem is mis-management by the haulage industry over a lengthy period. Huw Merriman, MP, chairman of the Commons transport committee (and a Remainer, incidentally) points to a report prepared in 2016 which highlighted the haulage industry’s staffing problems and he now suggests that the industry comes up with a plan to address those problems in the business which they are supposed to be managing, instead of constantly asking what the government will do about it.
As I said a few days ago, the government does not run the haulage industry, its directors and managers do.