The Irony of Brexit: Why Britain Now Needs Central and Eastern European Workers More Than Ever

Brexit was driven by fears that Eastern European migrants were "taking jobs" and "overburdening public services." Yet, just a few short years after the UK's departure from the European Union, the narrative has drastically changed. Now, business owners are calling for Eastern European workers to return to fill critical labor shortages. So, what went wrong? In this video, we explore the impact of Eastern European migration on the UK economy, the consequences of Brexit, and why the country may have underestimated just how much it needed its migrant workforce. From the failed ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign to labor shortages in agriculture and hospitality, discover how Brexit backfired in ways few expected.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this video is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered professional financial, investment, or legal advice. We shall not be held responsible for any errors or omissions in the content. Any action the viewer takes based on the information provided in this video is solely at their own risk.

[vlad-dracul]

Brits are always welcome to work in agriculture in Eastern Europe.

[asdfgh-thbb]

Im Polish and I lived in UK for around 5 years. The job I "stole" was 12h shifts standing job in a factory. I hope Brits are happy to have it back for themselves 🎉 🌸💖✨🎉

[krzosu]

What i found hilarious as a double standard was that brits were calling newcomers "immigrants" and when brits immigrate somewhere they want to be called "Expats" because they find the former degrading but they have no problems slamming it right in the face of others.

[haraberu]

As a German I want to take this opportunity to thank the Polish farmhands, Romanian truck drivers, and all the others who work so hard to provide affordable food for us. We can eat every day to the same standard as medieval king's holiday feast, and too many people take that for granted.

[ixrem]

The thing is Eastern Europeans don't need UK anymore.

[thestuff]

When I came to the UK 26 years ago and started working I felt privileged. There was a big economic difference between Poland and the UK. Today however I don't feel it at all. The rapid economic growth of Poland and the visible decline of the UK make me feel disappointed with my decision to live in the UK and I increasingly wonder if it was a good decision to invest the best years of my life in the UK. I have devoted my life to work, I have missed my son growing up. I have failed to form close social bonds. If I remain here in my old age I will be completely lonely living among strangers with whom I have nothing in common.

[januszzoch]

Pole here. I have a master’s degree from the best (and most expensive) university in Poland, but struggled to find a job. So I moved to the UK, where I lived in England and worked my way up from sweeping floors to becoming an aerospace CNC programmer. Occasionally, I’d get asked, “You’re Polish? Nice! When do you plan to leave?” It was funny at first, but after a few years, I got tired of those questions. Eventually, I packed my bags, returned to Poland, and never looked back. That was in 2011.

Now, I’m an international sales manager. We have an Englishman on the team who’s so good that he quickly became a manager as well. I never asked him when he planned to go back. Instead, I said, “Do you know any more people like you? If so, bring them over—we could definitely use 10 more people like Dave here.”

[tomkovjak]

A Pole here. Nobody in their right mind in my country would nowaydays consider moving to the UK. Poland is now comparable with the UK in terms of wealth but much safer and with better perspectives for the predictable future. And I believe my fellas from Czechia, Romania, Lithuania etc. are going to say the exact same thing.

[CZpersi]

During the Brexit referendum, I have heard one of the pro-Brexit politicians, saying something in the lines of: "We prefer Pakistanis over Eastern Europeans as they at least have the knowledge of Common Law". I cannot find the quote anymore, but I guess it aged like a fine milk.

[barandigemini]

I am Hungarian, living in the UK since 2007. I worked at an Indian family owned company for 7 years as a DC Operator, then as a Returns Administrator. Most of the warehouse workers were Hungarians, Polish and Romanian people working for minimum wage. Most with not perfect English, but TBH, it is not needed much for manual labour. All these workers were very hardworking and productive. Once we had a young white English girl who came to work there, in the SIM card scanning team. It was mostly a sitting job, scanning and packing thousands of SIM cards to be sent to the distribution shops. She left after a few weeks, because it was too hard for her and she could not keep up with the Eastern European ladies...We are not taking any jobs, we are doing jobs that British people are not willing/ able to do for MINIMUM WAGE. We are paying taxes and rent. Not getting anything for free. Just saying...

[Mjak-ydog]

The English did not want Poles, Czechs, Lithuanians, Hungarians in England who would already be English in the second and third generation, now they will have Pakistanis, Arabs and Africans, who in two generations will replace the English in England.

[imperfectkontra]

Polish woman here. I used to live and work in UK for few years, and I was the one who was actually assimilating into British culture, not escaping from it. Everything changed when I almost died aged 25 due to UK's doctor's negligence. I couldn't get any proper medical help even while begging for it in hospital. I went back to Poland, got diagnosed in 2 months and I'm alive, and healthy enough to function. I'm never coming back, even if I'm gonna be paid for it. Good luck Brits

[AGC]

"John" in 2015: "we can't find jobs, the Romanians, Polish anf Bulgarians took them all!"
The same "John" in 2024: "i'm too lazy to pick the strawberries, and the payment is too low, call back the migrants to harvest them!"
Well "John", now you should fill the jobs with Muslims, Africans, Indians etc...

[sebastians.]

Hey, Brits, now nobody "steals" your jobs, you can have it, enjoy...

[GoR]

I find it strange how they only complained about Eastern European migrants, but not about all the Asians and Africans. I guess you would be considered racist for complaining about them, but hating on Eastern Europe is somehow fine.

[jitkakolmanova]

You forgot to mention the unpunished aggression against Eastern Europeans that for me culminated in the murder of a Czech man Zdeněk Makar who was beaten to death by Raymond Sculley (he went to tell off a group of bikers for being too loud and was hit over and over and over with a biker chain by their leader). Despite it being recorded by camera and the police doing their job, in 2017 the british justice failed in the eyes and hearts of Eastern Europeans when it accepted the defence that could basically be summarized " big bad Eastern European threaten me, I was so afraid of this Eastern European boogey man that I just had to finish him off even when he was defenceless on the ground". Zdeněk had no back up, nor a weapon, yet his ethnicity was enough of a threat to let the man who bludgened him to death to walk scot free....

[gregfr]

Polish seasonal worker, can come to Germany, just next border and get - better salary, easy access without visa and can return home for a weeekend by car. What is a reason to come to the UK?

[maartenaalsmeer]

The UK might *need* European workers but it won't *get* them. Working visa, housing and cost of living in the UK is too expensive for most of those workers. They can work more easily (FOM) and earn just as good in other EU countries. So the Britons will have to do the work themselves, work most of them frown upon. But hey, sovereignty!

I'm from Georgia and have lived in Poland and Romania. Love both countries. Never felt any discrimination whatsoever. People are really nice and friendly. I feel sad for those who were treated so badly in the UK, hopefully, they were unlucky meeting the wrong persons while there were many kind ones out there.

[Potocalter]

I say we let them have their jobs and focus on improving our countries 🇷🇴❤️🇵🇱❤️🇧🇬