Starmer immigration speech: cynical, cruel and authoritarian
Labour’s anti-migrant policy announcements are a cynical, cruel and authoritarian attempt to appease Reform, say the Scottish Greens.
The Scottish Greens have accused the Prime Minister of using real people’s lives as political props and choosing to blame migrant workers for Labour’s refusal to improve wages and conditions.
The party's justice spokesperson, Maggie Chapman MSP, said:
“It is staggering to think that Keir Starmer was once a human rights lawyer, because this whole speech has been ripped right out of Nigel Farage’s playbook.
“The UK government has the power to improve wages and conditions in workplaces across our country any time that it wants to. But Labour is refusing to do this, instead choosing to scapegoat and blame migrant communities, outdoing the Tories.
“It is a cynical, cruel and authoritarian response to Reform. It will only serve to damage public services while throwing migrant workers under the bus with racist, restrictive and totally self-defeating policies.
“This approach will harm public services while fuelling the most toxic elements of our politics. You don’t beat the far right by pandering to them, but Labour seems determined to test this to destruction.
“Real people’s lives should not be used as political props in a contest between Labour, the Tories and Reform to see who can be the most hostile.
“It is time for Scotland to have powers over immigration so that we can build a system that welcomes and respects migrants and supports our services rather than undermining them.”