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| Diane Abbott warns Labour on immigration | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Diane Abbott, Britain's first black woman MP, has warned Labour not to indulge in "dog whistle" politics on immigration as Labour attempts to combat the rise of the UK Independence party. | |
| The shadow health minister, speaking on the eve of the 20th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's murder, said the party was in danger of entering a "downward spiral" if it failed to acknowledge the benefits of migrants or played on people's fears of the unknown. | The shadow health minister, speaking on the eve of the 20th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's murder, said the party was in danger of entering a "downward spiral" if it failed to acknowledge the benefits of migrants or played on people's fears of the unknown. |
| Her words will be seen as a bid to curb the wishes of senior Labour figures who would like to see Miliband take on Ukip and the Tories over immigration. | Her words will be seen as a bid to curb the wishes of senior Labour figures who would like to see Miliband take on Ukip and the Tories over immigration. |
| Labour's leader admitted last month the last government got it wrong on immigration by failing to listen to people's concerns, adding that Britain needed to reduce the numbers of low-skilled migrants coming to the country to work. | Labour's leader admitted last month the last government got it wrong on immigration by failing to listen to people's concerns, adding that Britain needed to reduce the numbers of low-skilled migrants coming to the country to work. |
| Ukip has risen over the past six months to be the third biggest party, on around 15 percentage points in recent polls, and has placed European immigration curbs at the heart of its agenda. | Ukip has risen over the past six months to be the third biggest party, on around 15 percentage points in recent polls, and has placed European immigration curbs at the heart of its agenda. |
| Speaking on Murnaghan on Sky, Abbott said: "Ed Miliband has made two speeches on immigration in recent months. I know that Ed thinks very carefully about this, and I don't disagree with anything he has said. But all parties need to be careful of 'dog whistle' politics on immigration where the text is fine but the underlying message is one that is not so fine. | Speaking on Murnaghan on Sky, Abbott said: "Ed Miliband has made two speeches on immigration in recent months. I know that Ed thinks very carefully about this, and I don't disagree with anything he has said. But all parties need to be careful of 'dog whistle' politics on immigration where the text is fine but the underlying message is one that is not so fine. |
| "The rise of Ukip has made people panicky about immigration but the truth is that the fear of immigration is just that – it is fear. The more immigrants who live in your area the less likely you are to worry about it. | "The rise of Ukip has made people panicky about immigration but the truth is that the fear of immigration is just that – it is fear. The more immigrants who live in your area the less likely you are to worry about it. |
| "As a party we need to be clear that there is a danger of a downward spiral. If we panic about Ukip and feel over-anxious about reassuring people about immigration, there is a danger of a downward spiral," the MP for Hackney North said. | "As a party we need to be clear that there is a danger of a downward spiral. If we panic about Ukip and feel over-anxious about reassuring people about immigration, there is a danger of a downward spiral," the MP for Hackney North said. |
| Abbott said the last Labour government had made a mistake while calculating the number of immigrants allowed to enter Britain from eastern Europe. "We underestimated the number of people who were going to come in from eastern Europe. It's perfectly clear that we got the stats wrong. We can apologise and have apologised for getting the forecasts wrong," she said. | Abbott said the last Labour government had made a mistake while calculating the number of immigrants allowed to enter Britain from eastern Europe. "We underestimated the number of people who were going to come in from eastern Europe. It's perfectly clear that we got the stats wrong. We can apologise and have apologised for getting the forecasts wrong," she said. |
| On the same programme, the Bulgarian ambassador to the UK criticised local election "propaganda" describing Bulgarians as a threat to Britain. Konstantin Dimitrov said such messages were "completely unacceptable" in a European country and said a strong response was required. | On the same programme, the Bulgarian ambassador to the UK criticised local election "propaganda" describing Bulgarians as a threat to Britain. Konstantin Dimitrov said such messages were "completely unacceptable" in a European country and said a strong response was required. |
| "There is an element of hostility fanned out by certain political quarters in certain media. It is not the reflection of the prevailing mood of the British people towards the Bulgarian people but it's very disappointing and it's very discriminatory in certain aspects. | "There is an element of hostility fanned out by certain political quarters in certain media. It is not the reflection of the prevailing mood of the British people towards the Bulgarian people but it's very disappointing and it's very discriminatory in certain aspects. |
| "We react firmly, politely, but very strongly against these assertions and the atmosphere created by this propaganda. "There were, for example, pre-election leaflets in counties that say the Bulgarians will be a threat to the social system of the United Kingdom. This is absolutely unacceptable in a European country," he said. | "We react firmly, politely, but very strongly against these assertions and the atmosphere created by this propaganda. "There were, for example, pre-election leaflets in counties that say the Bulgarians will be a threat to the social system of the United Kingdom. This is absolutely unacceptable in a European country," he said. |
| He singled out Ukip for criticism and blasted the Eurosceptic party as offering "feeble" messaging. | He singled out Ukip for criticism and blasted the Eurosceptic party as offering "feeble" messaging. |
| "He [Nigel Farage] is usually very feeble in presenting solid arguments. He prefers to engage in propaganda which deviates markedly from the essence of the debate," he said. | "He [Nigel Farage] is usually very feeble in presenting solid arguments. He prefers to engage in propaganda which deviates markedly from the essence of the debate," he said. |
| The faith and communities minister, Lady Warsi, earlier told Murnaghan that David Cameron had made great strides in taking racism out of the immigration debate. | The faith and communities minister, Lady Warsi, earlier told Murnaghan that David Cameron had made great strides in taking racism out of the immigration debate. |
| She said: "Politicians are regularly looking for those which can unite us – we talk about values, sometimes we talk about symbols like the union flag. | She said: "Politicians are regularly looking for those which can unite us – we talk about values, sometimes we talk about symbols like the union flag. |
| "We have to keep focusing on those things that unite us. Of course there has to be some quite targeted work … but I think we have got to come back to the approach this government has adopted, which is about focusing on those things that unite us, being very strong against issues of discrimination and protecting those communities who feel they're subjected to hate crime. | "We have to keep focusing on those things that unite us. Of course there has to be some quite targeted work … but I think we have got to come back to the approach this government has adopted, which is about focusing on those things that unite us, being very strong against issues of discrimination and protecting those communities who feel they're subjected to hate crime. |
| "One of the things David Cameron did incredibly well, even in opposition, was to de-racialise the immigration debate. Immigration is not about the colour of anyone's skin any more, it's a simple issue of resources at any one time." | "One of the things David Cameron did incredibly well, even in opposition, was to de-racialise the immigration debate. Immigration is not about the colour of anyone's skin any more, it's a simple issue of resources at any one time." |
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