Shippea Hill rail station in Cambridgeshire. The request-only stop was once famous for being the least used station in Britain. In latter years it became more popular as migrant workers commuted from the villages surrounding the Ely interchange to catch the 07.17 train for the nine minute ride to Shippea Hill where they would be mini-bussed to the packhouses of the Fens which surround the towns of Soham and Mildenhall. However, during the Covid pandemic demand fell away as many workers returned to their countries of origin when it was thought that having the jab would become a condition of employment.
Early morning Shift change at Fleet Hargate, Lincolnshire.
Romanesc broccoli awaiting harvest, Lincolnshire.
Field Supervisor
Contraband & Counterfeit cigarettes concealed in a chair, uncovered by Trading Standards during a raid on a newsagents in Lincolnshire.
New Roots, Old Soil A hairbrush, a broken mirror, a plate. An abandoned pigsty inhabited by two Latvian women who came to the UK seeking work but found themselves homeless and eating dog food to survive. Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
A English flag painted on a the door of No 11 Falcon Rd, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
Young workers from Eastern Europe fishing at Boston docks, Lincolnshire on a Saturday morning.
A demonstration in Boston, Lincolnshire, calling the invocation of Article 50, which would initiate the process of the UK leaving the EU. It was finally granted by PM Teresa May on 29th March 2017 sending a formal notification to the European Council, triggering the two-year period for withdrawal negotiations .
One of the intended consequences of the enlargement of the EU in 2004 was to create an underclass of foreign manual workers compelled to scurry around member countries to function as a check on the domestic workforce, ensuring wages and conditions were kept as low as possible. This was particularly acute in the UK agricultural sector which relied on foreign labour to deliver produce to the supermarkets at minimal cost. The trickle down effect of Brexit combined with economic growth in their home countries emboldened A8 workers to militate for better pay, conditions and the ability to contemplate alternative employment, much to the disdain of the the large agricultural corporations who regarded their workers as an inconvenience rather than an asset. Ultimately prices had to rise to reflect the real cost of production, much to the disappointment of shareholders and shoppers, the latter of whom had been fooled into believing a low-wage, low growth economy was a feature of modern, successful society.
Anti-loan shark campaign, March, Cambridgeshire
New Roots, Old Soil A woman from Estonia walks along the A47 in Cambridgeshire between her two jobs at McDonald's and a petrol station, Cambridgeshire.
Lithuanian workers on a Saturday morning, Norfolk.
Little Europe convenience shop, in Wisbech market place. “Foreign cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco are not subject to the strict regulation and control measures that would benefit UK authorised sale items and in most cases have not had UK duty paid on them. Distribution and sale of illicit / counterfeit goods is linked to serious and organised crime and nationally is a drain on the economy.”
The former Bull & Monkie public house, Spalding,Lincolnshire, now occupied by some of the town’s East European homeless.
Newsagents window with advert for a rented room in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Closed Polish shop in Great Yarmouth.
New Roots, Old SoilBabak, a Hungarian of Iranian descent waits for his friends in Wisbech market place on a Saturday afternoon wearing his new jeans. Taking advantage of the Citizens' Rights Directive 2004/38/EC he came to the UK for work and is employed in a vegetable packing factory on the edge of the town. Initially working the night shift he has recently been promoted to team leader and now works days.
A mural of the Blessed Virgin cradling a bottle of beer on the rooftops of Boston, Lincolnshire. The image appeared overnight, shortly after a vodka still situated on the edge of town exploded killing five Lithuanian men.
Wash day, King's Lynn, Norfolk.
Agostinho from Portugal waits for the agency minibus to take him to work. A 'limb' worker in Wisbech, he has no contract of employment and is often employed on a daily basis for cash.
Newly arrived migrant workers from Lithuania looking at adverts for accomodation in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Celery cutting team, Cambridgeshire.
Portuguese cafe, King's Lynn
Hoeing weeds by the A47, Norfolk.
Police and immigration enforcement officers interviewing a worker at a car wash in Cambridgeshire during a raid undertaken to combat modern slavery.
A room to rent,advertised in Russian, King's Lynn, Norfolk
Reflections in a kubus window,New England, Peterborough,Cambridgeshire