More bosses join wave of business leaders slamming Boris Johnson over shortages

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been criticised by business leaders (Peter Byrne/PA)
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The boss of one of Britain’s biggest construction firms warned on Friday that major projects could be delayed as the industry is hit by worker shortages due to “Brexit, Covid and the resulting restricted access to EU labour”.

Mark Reynolds, chief executive of Mace Group, which employs about 4,000 people in the UK, is the latest captain of industry to sound the alarm over the difficulties recruiting skilled workers.

Delays in construction projects could hit the Government’s flagship agenda to “level up” the country, including by building far more homes outside the South-East.

Mr Reynolds said: “It is important for everyone to recognise that there is a real risk that in construction we may see major projects delayed or costs increased significantly due to current challenges around labour and materials.

“The construction industry has been facing labour shortages for many years and these have been exacerbated by Brexit, Covid and the resulting restricted access to EU labour.”

The crisis, which includes a lack of HGV drivers and other workers in key industries, has plunged the Government into a clash with business chiefs.

The boss of one of central London’s biggest property owners joined the chorus of business leaders hitting back at Boris Johnson’s claim that companies’ “failure to invest” was the root cause of the crises hitting the economy.

Brian Bickell, chief executive of Shaftesbury, landlord to shops, restaurants and cafés in the West End, said the Prime Minister was suffering from “a slight memory loss, he wasn’t saying these things when he was Mayor of London”.

He added: “It is always better when there is a sensible relationship between government and business, it would be a good start if everyone could be a bit more grown-up and take a more practical approach rather than name calling.”

He dismissed the PM’s claims that business had become hooked on low-wage, low-skill immigrant workers, saying: “When he was Mayor he liked to champion London as a great attractor of talent from all over the world, but he seems to have forgotten that.”

Mr Bickell was speaking after Mr Johnson argued at the Tory conference on Wednesday that the businesses could no longer “use immigration as an excuse for failure to invest in people, in skills and in equipment”.

The Brexit-supporting Next boss Lord Wolfson had earlier called for business to be allowed to decide how many foreign workers it needed. However, ministers are refusing to open the door to the number of overseas workers that business chiefs say are needed.

The Cabinet, though, is split over how many workers should be allowed in to address labour shortages in farming, transport, healthcare and other sectors.

A government spokesperson said it was “taking action to address businesses’ concerns about the global issues of increasing wholesale gas prices and challenges with supply chains.

“We’re working with industry to identify and resolve current issues and we’re monitoring the situation closely so that we can ease any future pinch points.”

But the aftershocks from Mr Johnson’s speech continued to rumble on Friday.

David Page, chairman of Fulham Shore, which runs the Franco Manca and Real Greek restaurants, said: “We need a controlled immigration policy and a growing workforce and that is not available to business UK today. It’s enough to make you tear your hair out.”

He said the crisis would “result in inflation, businesses going bust just as they thought they had survived the last 18 months”.

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