The high human cost of the EU’s free movement of labour policy is becoming apparent as winter begins to bite. In Goole, Yorkshire, penniless migrant workers are pitching tents and sleeping rough in freezing temperatures, unable to afford accommodation after being laid off from their casual jobs.
A shanty town has grown up in the back gardens of a row of derelict houses scheduled for demolition. One hungry migrant was caught stealing food after her agency failed to find her any work.
Local people worried about their welfare have called for money to be provided to get the migrants back to their own countries – however, employers who have earlier profited from the influx of cheap labour have not been asked to provide it.