Made in Britain

When Gordon Brown promised "British jobs for British workers", he gave opponents of a liberal economy their most effective slogan, writes The Guardian.

The Guardian

When Gordon Brown promised "British jobs for British workers", he had no intention of stopping citizens of European Union countries from working in the UK. So what did he mean?

Clearly not what workers at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire thought he meant. On Friday, they began strike action over the recruitment of more than 300 Italian and Portuguese workers to a new construction project. Hundreds more workers around the country downed tools in solidarity. Mr Brown's pledge was brandished on placards held by the strikers.

There is nothing new about companies hiring foreign labour and nothing exceptional about British workers resenting them for it. But there are reasons to be worried about the potential scale of public anger. …

Unions insist their anger is directed not against foreigners, but the bosses who hired them. That may well be the case, but "British jobs for British workers" is hardly a message of international solidarity.

Gordon Brown says he meant it as a pledge to give workers the skills to compete for jobs in the 21st century. He needs urgently to clarify that message for the new economic circumstances. As things stand, he will struggle to make the case for an open, liberal economy, having given its opponents in Britain their most effective and dangerous slogan.