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| Diane Abbott warns Labour leadership not to 'pander' on immigration | Diane Abbott warns Labour leadership not to 'pander' on immigration |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Labour's difficulties in adopting a new approach to immigration policy were highlighted on Wednesday when the shadow public health minister Diane Abbott suggested that her party could be "pandering" on the issue. | Labour's difficulties in adopting a new approach to immigration policy were highlighted on Wednesday when the shadow public health minister Diane Abbott suggested that her party could be "pandering" on the issue. |
| Just hours before Labour's party political broadcast on the subject was due to be aired on Wednesday, Abbott used Twitter to say: "Is Labour tackling immigration? Or just pandering without offering concrete solutions?" | |
| Labour party sources said it was "ludicrous" to suggest the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP was being critical of the broadcast, but without Abbott's clarification the statement was interpreted by many as a direct challenge to the Labour leader, Ed Miliband. | |
| The tweet also followed a comment piece by Abbott published by the New Statesman magazine in which she warned there was "no path to victory for Labour through the thickets of anti-immigrant politics" – although in that article, published before the party broadcast was made public, she added "and I am confident that Ed Miliband knows this". | The tweet also followed a comment piece by Abbott published by the New Statesman magazine in which she warned there was "no path to victory for Labour through the thickets of anti-immigrant politics" – although in that article, published before the party broadcast was made public, she added "and I am confident that Ed Miliband knows this". |
| In the broadcast, Miliband, whose father Ralph arrived in Britain as an immigrant after fleeing the Nazi invasion of Belgium more than 70 years ago, repeats a previous apology for Labour's approach to immigration in the last government, saying the party was "wrong" when it "dismissed" people's concerns about immigration. | |
| Although he twice reiterates that the diversity brought by immigrants is "a source of great strength", he concedes "people can be worried if migration isn't properly managed" – for example, because change happens too fast, or when wages are undercut. | Although he twice reiterates that the diversity brought by immigrants is "a source of great strength", he concedes "people can be worried if migration isn't properly managed" – for example, because change happens too fast, or when wages are undercut. |
| Is Labour tackling immigration? Or just pandering without offering concrete solutions? labourlist.org/?p=40719 | Is Labour tackling immigration? Or just pandering without offering concrete solutions? labourlist.org/?p=40719 |
| Miliband goes on to give Labour's support to "maximum controls" on immigrants from new EU countries, a reference to concerns about an influx of people from Romania and Bulgaria when restrictions are lifted on migration at the end of this year; proper enforcement of the minimum wage to stop pay being undercut; improved training for British workers; and a greater focus on the English language, including a rule that all public sector workers who have face-to-face contact with the public "need to be able to speak English". | |
| Although written before the release of the video or text of the broadcast, Abbott's blog can be read as a pre-emptive criticism of some of the policies advocated by her party leader, with a warning against being panicked by the success of the anti-immigration party Ukip in the recent Eastleigh byelection into moving to the right on the subject. | Although written before the release of the video or text of the broadcast, Abbott's blog can be read as a pre-emptive criticism of some of the policies advocated by her party leader, with a warning against being panicked by the success of the anti-immigration party Ukip in the recent Eastleigh byelection into moving to the right on the subject. |
| More specifically, Abbott criticises the Conservative home secretary's focus on cutting net migration figures – something that will reflect on Miliband's support for tougher limits on immigration from new EU member states. | More specifically, Abbott criticises the Conservative home secretary's focus on cutting net migration figures – something that will reflect on Miliband's support for tougher limits on immigration from new EU member states. |
| There is support, though, for Miliband's focus on tackling weaknesses in the labour market that encourage a race to the bottom on wages. "Anti-immigrant fervour is actually a proxy for economic discontent and will inevitably rise in a recession," says Abbott. "I warmly welcome the practical policies that my party is shaping around the real discontents of ordinary people; ranging from building more homes to the principle of a living wage." | There is support, though, for Miliband's focus on tackling weaknesses in the labour market that encourage a race to the bottom on wages. "Anti-immigrant fervour is actually a proxy for economic discontent and will inevitably rise in a recession," says Abbott. "I warmly welcome the practical policies that my party is shaping around the real discontents of ordinary people; ranging from building more homes to the principle of a living wage." |
| Last year Abbott was warned by the party leadership after tweeting: "White people love playing 'divide and rule'"; she later apologised for the remark. Abbott stood in the party leadership contest after the 2010 general election defeat, which Miliband narrowly won by beating his brother David in the last round. |