The hidden costs of Britain’s seasonal worker scheme: Extension without reform

The hidden costs of Britain’s seasonal worker scheme: Extension without reform

When the Labour government announced in February 2025 that the UK’s Seasonal Worker Scheme would be extended for another five years, the decision was framed as a pragmatic compromise. Farmers had been lobbying hard for certainty in the wake of Brexit, labour shortages, and the government’s controversial inheritance tax proposals. For them, the extension was a political victory and an economic necessity. Yet behind the headlines, the decision spa…