I wouldn’t ever dream of saying such a thing, Highlander.
What I did say was that taking everything into account, EU workers in this country add more to the economy than they take out. My next door neighbour, for instance, is an Eastern European (Romanian) dentist; their tax and national insurance contributions, the VAT they pay on the goods and services they buy, the council tax they pay, the nursery their kids attend all add up. They’re young and healthy and educated, so I can’t imagine they’re a big drain on the health service.
At the end of our road is a thriving hand car wash run by Latvians. Before they arrived, the site had been a disused filling station - an absolute eyesore. They work 12 hours a day in all weathers, and offer a fantastic service to the community. I feel ashamed that people like these are being made to feel unwelcome.
Luckily, our neighbours’ earnings will be well over the 30k cut off point for EU citizens living here, but that would not be the case if they were nurses, teachers, hotel or farm workers, or ran a car wash.