The Labour leader is hoping to turn public attention away from his party’s infighting and back onto the record of the Conservative government…reports Asian Lite News
Keir Starmer has announced plans to ban employers who break employment law from hiring workers from abroad, in an attempt to shrink net migration numbers.
The Labour leader is hoping to turn public attention away from his party’s infighting and back onto the record of the Conservative government.
Britain has seen two years of record-high immigration, a sore political point for the ruling Conservative party who pledged to clamp down on the issue in the 2019 election.
Starmer didn’t commit to any target figure or date to bring numbers down, telling The Sun on Sunday newspaper, “I will control our borders and make sure British businesses are helped to hire Brits first.” He said employers had become “too reliant” on workers from outside the UK.
The announcement comes after the first major “wobble” of the Labour campaign, when left-wing candidates publicly complained of a “purge”, derailing the party’s plans to talk about the National Health Service and the economy.
Despite that, an Opinium poll published on Saturday showed the party extending its lead to 20 points ahead of the Conservative party.
Conservative Party Chairman Richard Holden responded to the immigration announcement by attacking Starmer’s fiscal credentials saying, “Be under no illusion – Labour will have to raise taxes by £2,094 for every household to pay for their unfunded spending plans, taking us back to square one.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is also seeking to refocus the Conservative campaign, telling the Sunday Telegraph that Labour “betrayed pensioners before” and will put up taxes on the elderly.
Starmer slammed
Starmer has come under fire from both sides of the political divide after vowing to cut immigration and crackdown on foreign visas.
The Labour leader is looking at banning bosses who break employment law from hiring workers from abroad and force sectors to train Britons before receiving foreign worker visas.
Critics of the Labour leader were left bewildered by Starmer given he previously expressed his concern about Tory plans to end freedom of movement.
Former Brexit Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is seeking re-election as the MP for North East Somerset, told GB News: “Starmer has become a feather cushion bearing the imprint of the last focus group that sits on him.”
Another Tory MP said: “Labour seem locked into a campaign strategy of say anything to get elected, lots of which is clickbait desperation to wide what they have been saying for years.
“We all know the left want open borders and the public will see through it in seconds.”
A Conservative source added: “Slowly but surely Sir Keir is being found out. He’s a vacuous vessel who will absorb any view or position in order to gain power. Voters should ask themselves do they really know what Sir Keir stands for?”
Tory figures have also highlighted how Starmer served as Corbyn’s Shadow Brexit Secretary and pushed for a second referendum on EU membership.
However, it was not just Conservative figures who voiced concern about the Labour leader’s change of heart.
A spokesperson for Momentum, a left-wing pressure group on the fringe of the Labour Party said, “Four years ago Keir promised to make the positive case for immigration and build a system based on compassion and dignity. He’s done quite the opposite, embracing not just Natalie Elphicke but her anti-migrant politics. Labour should stop embracing the Tories’ race to the bottom and set out a new approach, including expanded safe routes for refugees.”
Directly addressing Starmer’s more liberal pledge to members in 2020, a Labour source added: “As people have worked out Keir is a man of many skins that he sheds when necessary. This would never be policy it’s just what would appeal to members. I wouldn’t expect him to do anything like this in Government.”
In an open letter penned by Starmer in January 2020, the Holborn & St Pancras MP said: “Britain is economically, culturally and socially richer as a result of immigration.”
He added: “For too long, Labour has been unwilling to speak about immigration and unable to set out a positive vision for a modern, welcome and compassionate immigration system. I believe that can change, and once I’m elected Labour leader, it will.”
Throughout the letter, Starmer also promised to close immigration detention centres, liberalise family reunions, let asylum seekers workers, and give foreign residents the right to vote.
He later boasted about suing the Government to increase benefits for asylum seekers and complained about the system deterring migrants who come to the UK illegally.
However, Starmer would later deliver a speech vowing to “make Brexit work”, adding: “We will not return to freedom of movement to create short-term fixes.” The Labour leader, who vowed to scrap Rishi Sunak’s Rwanda plan, also vowed to establish a new Border Security Command to work with Border Force, MI5 and the National Crime Agency on prosecuting gangs operating small boat routes.
Outgoing Dover MP Natalie Elphicke, who defected to Labour after being seen as a figure on the right of the Tory Party, promoted the proposal and slammed Sunak over his handling of the Channel crossing crisis.
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