Keir Starmer acknowledged concerns about immigration were ‘legitimate’. (Image: Getty)
The Labour Party Conference took place this week, with the usual platitudes and feel-good anecdotes to inspire the party’s natural supporters. And who can blame them?
After a week of “freebie” scandals and a leak investigation into bad briefings, any good press for Labour right now is like finding an oasis in the desert.
Despite the constant talk of “joy”, “optimism” and “hope”, members of the British public are still wondering just how joyful, optimistic or hopeful Labour thinks most pensioners are feeling right now. Especially with the prospect of freezing to death this winter.
And what little talk there was of policy at the conference lacked any real substance. Even after a few days, I still cannot tell you what Labour plans to do for the country other than eventually “turn the corner”. OK? But, for most people, the priority was to see what Labour had to say about the country’s number one issue: immigration. And on that point, the Prime Minister deserves some credit.
He not only mentioned it (a very low bar indeed), but he also acknowledged concerns about immigration were “legitimate”. He committed his Government to not only reduce net migration but also lessen our economic dependency on it – and even went as far as to say that “there are plenty of examples of apprenticeships going down at the very same time that visa applications for the same skills are going up. And so, we will get tough on this”.
The key question, of course, is how? And what exactly does “getting tough” look like?
Sir Keir’s comments on immigration were predictable, vague and balanced – with just enough coverage to give the impression he’s not completely tone-deaf on the issue. For this, Labour HQ must be glad. However, his later comments, and those of his Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, highlighted just how far behind Labour truly is on this issue. In what turned out to be the most enthusiastically received part of his speech, the PM rejected “those who say that the only way to love your country is to hate your neighbour because they look different” – a very fair point.
Of course, we must reject violence and hatred. But who exactly is making the opposite case? Why allow the actions of a few thugs and racists to frame an essential debate about social integration, British values and national identity?
Would Sir Keir feel differently if people rejected their neighbours because they “acted” differently? Or, worse still, does he think the country would have jumped for joy if the person alleged to have murdered three little girls at a dance class in Southport happened to be white? Of course not. There are deep social divisions in this country that transcend the violence we saw in Southport. And Labour knows this.
Incredibly, while discussing the mass migration, Ms Cooper managed to miss the elephant in the room. How does she plan to make good on any of her promises without drastically cutting immigration numbers (both legal and illegal)? How on earth can Labour talk about house building, cheaper energy, encouraging domestic jobs, investing in our schools, reforming the NHS, and all the other things that the public is genuinely concerned about without first addressing immigration?
The latest figures put net migration into Britain for the last two years at 1.2 million people. That is 1.2 million more people using our roads, national health service, schools, water, and energy. Plus, more than 25,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year (so much for “smashing the gangs”).
How will the Government raise the money needed to accommodate hundreds of thousands of new immigrants every year, given the myriad of problems this country faces?
It is clear that for much of the Labour Party, immigration is not a top concern – even though it affects virtually all aspects of public life. That is how far the cognitive dissonance goes.
Unsurprisingly, Ms Cooper parroted the same line as the PM, arguing that “many people have legitimate concerns about immigration”. Except, she didn’t actually address them.
What exactly are those “legitimate” concerns as you understand them, Ms Cooper? And how are people expected to express those concerns without being maligned as callous racists? Immigration is clearly the bogeyman for Labour. But it’s not going away anytime soon.
Ms Cooper can call people “right-wing wreckers” as much as she wants. But the truth is nothing will change until we see immigration figures, both legal and illegal, fall substantially.