Labour will say it could reverse all Tory cuts in this Parliament. Why are the media talking about migration?
Jeremy Corbyn is determined to present an ‘alternative argument’ on immigration. Bravo! [Image: Peter Powell/PA].
Reversing the cuts that have caused so much harm already – and will cause very much more before we are able to lever the Conservative parasites out of office – would be very popular so, for example, the Grauniad manages to bury it in the third paragraph of its story.
Labour’s position on migration is much more contentious with ordinary people who have been conditioned by media like the Daily Mail and Daily Express, and politicians like Nigel Farage and UKIP, to believe that people who come from foreign lands to work in the UK must by definition be harming the indigenous population – us.
It would be more accurate to say employers who take on such workers at artificially-depressed rates of pay are doing the harm – and that is precisely the point Jeremy Corbyn intends to make.
But who will listen?
When the well has been poisoned, nobody will want to drink there – and the well of opinion on immigration into the UK is currently so lethal that it is impossible to have a reasoned discussion about it.
The ‘comment’ column following this article may prove This Writer correct (although I’d rather it prove me wrong).
Corbyn is to be applauded for his attempt.
Who knows? If the media are wrong about general opinions toward the Labour Party, reason may yet prevail. In David Cameron’s UK, that would be a welcome surprise.
Jeremy Corbyn is expected to attack David Cameron’s negotiations of an “emergency brake” on benefits for new migrants as potentially discriminatory, and make a positive case for European migration ahead of the crunch summit on Britain’s EU membership this week.
Despite serious concerns among some of the shadow cabinet, it seems the Labour leader is determined to present an “alternative argument” that discriminating against workers from east European states is unfair and will do nothing to reduce migration levels.
It is part of a series of potentially contentious moves by Corbyn in the coming months designed to leave his political stamp on the party, including a new “Labour fiscal credibility rule”, under which the party would “guarantee that all cuts announced for this parliament could be reversed in full”.
Corbyn is planning to make his intervention on EU renegotiation during a visit to Brussels before the summit of member states on Thursday and Friday, where the prime minister will seek agreement on his renegotiation, including the idea of a four-year block on new migrants within the EU receiving in-work benefits.
The Labour leader will suggest that Cameron has been “playing at the edges” in his renegotiation, according to sources close to Corbyn, and will suggest a crackdown on the undercutting of wages by unscrupulous agencies paying eastern European workers below the minimum wage for jobs in the UK should have been a priority.
Source: Jeremy Corbyn set to condemn Cameron’s EU benefit brake | Politics | The Guardian
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Mike I look forward to hear what Jeremy has to say about immigration. I don’t think it is the media that is dictating feelings about immigration but the fact that there are hardly any jobs available, if as you say Jeremy does tackle the cause of low pay would that only encourage more immigration?
My husband managed to find a job after 12 months of agency work for yes you guessed it minimum pay this was after being made redundant from a very well paid job with excellent benefits.
The place he now works has 75% of Polish workers making up the workforce, some cannot even speak English.
I personally would love to be able to stay in Europe but not under these circumstances as I just cannot see how we can continue with immigration within the EU as we are only a small island & are bursting at the seams now, plus the NHS & public services are at breaking point, One question I would like to know is what was the population in the UK 20 years ago as opposed to now.
I voted to join the EU as I believed at the time we were better off forming a Union between European countries, better in a pack than alone plus at the time we had the cold war. What I did not realise at that time was that our Laws etc would be dictated by the EU.
I would love for someone to come up with an answer so we can stay within Europe but not under the current terms we have with them.
The argument is that if low pay is tackled, employers won’t be so keen to bring in labour from abroad because it won’t be any cheaper than employing people who are already here.
The argument that “we are only a small argument and are bursting at the seams now” is false. A little online research should deliver the counter-arguments you need to see. The NHS and public services are under strain due to Tory under-funding, not immigration. Foreign nationals who have come to the UK in fact contribute to the well-being of the country.
Your question about population size is also loaded; it would have increased without any help from EU immigration so any figures you had would be misleading.
There ARE arguments for EU reform. I am currently in two minds about whether it would be better to stay, what with TTIP and the amount of interference in member states’ affairs. But we’re not going to see those arguments aired by David Cameron – as demonstrated by his recent claims of “renegotiation”.
I would prefer to stay in the EU, I’d prefer a socialist in power, I’d prefer our media to report the news with no bias or opinion and allow the viewer/reader to form their own. The post-2015 election really does seem to hammer home the whole “you don’t always get what you want” thing.
Corbyn is right, if we reverse the austerity measures and adopt policies advocated by the likes of Tax Research Professor Richard Murphy there would be money enough to fund not just the vulnerable, but the NHS and schools as well. Less than 1% of immigrants in this country come here to leech off the benefits system. Many benefits are only necessary because of Osborne’s choice to depress wages rather than investing in business and jobs. The EU dictates how the welfare system works relative to immigration from the EU. If we leave, we decide on who gets what and at least with Corbynomics we will see money going to the exchequer and reduce our welfare bill so the matter is not a bone of contention the Tories can exploit with their lies.