6 hours ago
8
Keir Starmer was right to denounce Reform UK’s immigration policies as racist but, unsurprisingly, he failed to acknowledge that the exact same racism underpins his own government’s rhetoric and policies on immigration (Starmer decries Reform’s ‘racist’ plans as ministers escalate attacks on Farage, 28 September). Even as he criticised Nigel Farage’s cruel intervention pledging to end indefinite leave to remain, he and the home secretary still promised harsher, more restrictive conditions for immigrants. As if all the country’s problems are immigrants’ fault.
The Labour government and Reform do not seem to have any real disagreement on immigration, just on how hard to pursue the same goal. There is disagreement on style, not substance. This is why Starmer could never win this fight: while he aids the radicalisation of public discourse by normalising xenophobia, he will always look like a watered-down Farage.
If he really wants to “take the fight to Reform”, he can start by telling the truth about immigration to this country: that it is incredibly hard and expensive to come to the UK; that international students subsidise home students in UK universities; that every visa holder ends up paying thousands of pounds into the NHS; that immigrants support the economy through their work and pay taxes like everyone else. But most visa holders have no recourse to public funds. This means that they are excluded from the welfare state but are nonetheless asked to be grateful for the generosity shown to them.
Most Britons are unaware of the realities of being an immigrant in their country. So it’s no wonder that the far right is gaining ground on this issue. If Labour wants to change this, it must change the narrative, start telling the truth and address the real social problems that would make a difference to people’s lives, rather than blaming it all on foreigners.
Guy Fassler
St Andrews, Fife
Keir Starmer says Reform UK’s pledge to scrap indefinite leave to remain is racist and immoral. Labour’s own plans involve doubling the qualifying period to 10 years and imposing a string of conditions to make acquisition of the status more difficult. So that’s Labour’s pitch, is it? “Vote for us; we’re a bit less racist and immoral than Reform.”
Years ago, I was a Labour member, and even a parliamentary candidate. After the savage cuts to overseas development, the lack of action on Gaza and now this, there’s no way I’d consider even voting for it. New Labour was as far to the right as I was prepared to go; Starmer’s Labour is well outside my comfort zone.
Doug Maughan
Dunblane, Stirling
Why can Labour no longer rely on British ethnic-minority voters like me? Maybe because, even when trying to sound inclusive, it still speaks of “us” as “them”. Rachel Reeves says “the person who is sitting next to you” might be deported under Reform UK’s plans. But what if that person is you? Until Labour can refer to the 18% of people who don’t identify as white as “us” instead of “them”, the party will keep sounding like it’s talking about outsiders, not all of us, including those of us with nowhere else to go.
Sunil Bhopal
Newcastle upon Tyne
How ill-advised Keir Starmer is to refer to Reform UK as “an enemy” (Keir Starmer to warn Labour that battle with Reform is ‘fight for soul of the nation’, 27 September). Has he not learned from what happened to the Democrats when, in the 2016 US presidential election, Hillary Clinton used similar factional language in her contest with Donald Trump? Starmer needs Reform voters to believe in Labour. Casting them as foes is unlikely to achieve this.
Dr Roger Hancock
London
