The Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, delivered a speech to a select group of key stakeholders, ranging from business to NGOs, in front of a 'One Nation Labour' projection. An interesting intervention a month before the European and local elections in the UK.
The Labour Party has long resisted the demand to put forward an alternative position on immigration and often taken a step back from some of the contentious dog-fights between the Conservatives and the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) over European Union migration. Even with the 'hostile' Immigration Bill, Cooper and co abstained on the key controversial proposals, including citizenship stripping, that their counterparts in the House of Lords shot-down earlier this week.
With key speeches from party leader Ed Miliband and former Shadow Immigration Chris Bryant, Labour has always taken the safe option of pressing for greater powers to enforce the minimum wage – to stop exploitation of migrant labour – and cracking down on firms that exclusively hire migrants.
We expected another 'safe speech' from Cooper in this 'major speech' introduced and coordinated by Tim Finch of the Institute for Public Policy Research. Finch said the Centre-left have been unable to establish a 'plausible progressive position' on immigration. Current Coalition government policies are set to fail, and in the process, damage the UK's economy.
Cooper's speech repeated Labour's oft-heard approach to a 'progressive' immigration policy, which will be 'better and fairer for Britain' than the current Coalition approach. Adding what we've heard consistently from the mainstream parties about their the concerns of constituents on the doorstep, Cooper said people were concerned about the 'pace of change' in local areas, and the public is not confident that the 'current system' is working. She repeated that the 'last Labour government got it wrong' but equally damaging for the Conservatives is that 'David Cameron is failing to meet his target'.
'Illegal immigration is getting worse', Cooper added, and the 'reactionary Conservative' approach is damaging the economy, which will not be a Labour government approach, as well as not being beholden to the 'free market liberal' position that enhances the likelihood of wage exploitation.
The policies Cooper set out had not deviated from the positions held previously by Miliband and Bryant. She said a Labour government would enforce the national minimum wage and crack down on agencies that hire migrants exclusively. But 'stronger controls are needed' to stem the follow of irregular migration and a Labour government would not 'compete in an arms race' on rhetoric nor introduce 'go home ad-vans on our streets.'
A Labour government would enforce the national minimum wage and crack down on agencies directly employing migrant workers, Cooper announced. We've heard this policy before. She added the Shadow Home team and the Shadow Business team are currently involved in a nationwide consultation into the laws around exploitation and wages. This would then form the basis of a major policy announcement in the next 12 months.
Other proposals included 'stronger controls' on numbers coming and going. There would be a system that counted people in and out so 'visa conditions are enforced'. Added to that are plans being drawn up at the moment on overstaying and controlling our ports, and tackling the problems arising from refugees camped out in Calais.
A Labour government would also 'bring back fingerprinting for illegal immigrants', crack down on short-term student migration, keep the cap on skilled workers, and remove overseas students from the net migration target. All workers will be 'expected' to speak English to a 'decent standard' and benefits would be reformed to ban tax credits and benefits going to children of UK migrant workers who do not live here. EU criminals will not be allowed to stay in the UK.
An interesting discussion ensued after her speech. Cooper refused to announce any substantial policy that is unique to an incoming Labour government. There is no commitment to drop the net migration target but to review it and introduce a number of measures to reduce migration further. The income threshold on spousal visas will stay but minor changes may be applied. And re-opening the post-study work route is not on the table at the moment.