Automation (particularly of agriculture) should be the focus of national strategy. God forbid we return to the 20th-century solution of throwing more bodies at

Automation (particularly of agriculture) should be the focus of national strategy. God forbid we return to the 20th-century solution of throwing more bodies at the problem (uncontrolled mass immigration), which will only exacerbate the underlying issue as immigrants settle and age. The reality is that the first waves of immigration from the EU (skilled workers from developed nations) were hugely beneficial for the UK economy. But as the EU expanded into destitute former Soviet states, later waves of immigration were not the same demographic, from an economic point of view. At some point we have to weigh up the benefits of cheaper fruit and veg, nannies and cleaners versus the cost of providing subsidised housing and wildly expensive public services to immigrant workers on the min wage, who are a net burden on the Treasury. It just doesn't stack up, from the perspective of productive taxpayers. Housing and public services currently have a crisis of demand, not supply. The Tories increased the NHS budget by £40bn in real terms since 2010, but it's still unable to cope with the weight of demand.