Martin Kettle asks whether Labour has a migration policy “that will be capable, in government, of withstanding a wholly predictable onslaught on just this issue from the Tories in opposition” (Yes, the Tories’ migration bill is bad – but the lack of Commons scrutiny is more disturbing still, 13 July).
On Channel 4 News on 25 May, Yvette Cooper set out Labour’s ideas for tackling migration. She said that there would be large-scale investment in training doctors and nurses, and that the UK’s general skills shortages would be addressed, employers would no longer be able to recruit skilled IT personnel and engineers from abroad on salaries 20% lower than British workers, and asylum seekers would be fast-tracked to clear the backlog that is growing, not decreasing as Rishi Sunak claims.
Those policies won’t stop the boats, but they are sensible, and they should help to make British people better trained, better valued and able to do the new jobs that will be required in a new green economy. And they should help to dampen resentment against migrant workers. Most people would also rather asylum seekers were allowed to work and support themselves. Fast-tracked, they will either be removed or they will quickly find work, as there is so much that needs to be done.
Labour’s policies don’t fit into three-word slogans, but they do exist. We’ve had no government worth the name for 13 years. Brexit filled the void. Give Labour credit for the policies that it is developing to save this country from perdition.
Amanda Norrie
London
