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Tory frontbencher Robert Jenrick has issued a defence of Sir Keir Starmer’s claim that the UK risks becoming “island of strangers” as a result of migration after the prime minister faced backlash for the remarks.
Sir Keir issued the controversial warning as he laid out some of the toughest rules in recent history to crack down on immigration.
The PM also said that the number of people entering the country is causing “incalculable damage” – remarks that have provoked a furious backlash, with his own MPs joining trade unions and charities in comparing the language with that of the far right and Enoch Powell.
And, asked repeatedly whether she would use the “island of strangers” comment herself, home secretary Yvette Cooper refused four times to endorse the remarks.
But asked what he made of the prime minister’s characterisation, the shadow justice secretary – who has typically been at loggerheads with the Labour leader on migration – said: “I think it’s true. In fact, I think in some places we already are. Aggressive levels of mass migration have made us more divided.”
He suggested that the UK was not a “united country”, adding: “If you look at communities in our country, for example central Bradford, 50 per cent of people were born outside of the United Kingdom; in central Luton, 46 per cent of residents arrived in the past decade.
“There are places like Dagenham where the white British population has fallen by almost 60 per cent in the last 25 years.”
Speaking to Sky News, he added: “People in many parts of our country are experiencing profound change as a result of the levels of migration that we’ve seen, and we’ve got to bring that back to the historic levels that we enjoyed as a country which enabled us to be a well-integrated and united country, rather than the one that we’re seeing today.”
Meanwhile, home secretary Ms Cooper denied that the language was toxic or dangerous, telling BBC Breakfast: “Part of the point that he is making is that we have to recognise people have come to the UK through generations to do really important jobs in our NHS, founding our biggest businesses, doing some of the most difficult jobs.
“But it’s because that’s important, the system has to be controlled and managed, and it just hasn’t been.”
The home secretary had earlier refused to put a number on the amount she wanted to see net migration reduced by because, she said, targets used by the Tories in government had been “meaningless”.
In a dramatic early morning press conference on Monday aimed at seizing the political agenda after a series of disastrous local election results, Sir Keir insisted his new immigration plans were being unveiled “because they are the right thing to do”.
Among the measures announced were a ban on the recruitment of care workers from overseas, increased English language requirements for immigrants and the tightening of access to skilled worker visas.
But while Sir Keir denied his government’s white paper was a “reaction to a political party” following the success of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK at the local elections, critics condemned his attempts to “pander” to Mr Farage.
Sir Keir’s language marked an extraordinary turnaround in the last five years from when he was Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow immigration minister promoting open borders and from three years ago when he claimed that those raising immigration as an issue were “racist”.
One senior Labour backbencher compared his language to Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech in 1968 which whipped up a frenzy of anti-immigration hatred across the UK.
Norwich South MP Clive Lewis told The Independent: “This kind of language doesn’t just alienate communities, it drives people away from our country altogether. And if those at the top think this is a clever tactic to win another five years by rolling out the red carpet for Nigel Farage, they’re mistaken. We are losing far more progressive voters than we are gaining from Reform UK.”
Meanwhile, MP Nadia Whittome said the rhetoric was “shameful and dangerous”, and accused the PM of “mimicking the scaremongering of the far right."
But asked to respond to accusations he had adopted Powell’s rhetoric, Sir Keir told the Guardian: “Migrants make a massive contribution to the UK, and I would never denigrate that.”
“Britain is an inclusive and tolerant country, but the public expect that people who come here should be expected to learn the language and integrate”, he added.
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