Migration is the key issue, as ever, but perhaps now it is has become a huge issue due to Starmer’s speech.
Island of Strangers
It comes as Keir Starmer has defended his plans to curb net migration after an angry backlash from MPs, businesses and industry to a speech in which he said the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers.”
The rhetoric was likened by some critics to the language of Enoch Powell, and Starmer was accused of pandering to the populist right by insisting he intended to “take back control of our borders” and end a “squalid chapter” of rising inward migration.
At a press conference Starmer said: “Let me put it this way, nations depend on rules, fair rules. Sometimes they are written down, often they are not, but either way, they give shape to our values, guide us towards our rights, of course, but also our responsibilities, the obligations we owe to each other.
“In a diverse nation like ours … we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.”
In response, Zarah Sultana wrote that Starmer had “imitated” Powell’s speech, which subsequently became a rallying cry for racists and the hard right in the UK.
The MP for Coventry South wrote on X: “That speech fuelled decades of racism and division. Echoing it today is a disgrace. It adds to anti-migrant rhetoric that puts lives at risk. Shame on you, Keir Starmer.”
Graph
Peter Stefanovic shared the video and wrote: “Well done @itvnews on pointing out the soaring rise in immigration “since we completed Brexit” – a key factor. This should be pointed out to Farage (who championed Brexit) in every interview.”
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