1) There's something extremely strange about how the UK's treated freedom of movement. In many EU states, after 90 days in the country, visitors have to register, and need ID cards to pay tax, start a business, claim benefits, access healthcare.
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2) Yet when UK discussed ID cards during Blair government, it was part of the whole 90 days detention for suspected terrorists thing. New Labour was, at times, remarkably authoritarian - and the proposal failed because of fears over government having access to private information
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3) At no point did how EU member states use ID cards to control freedom of movement ever come up. No-one even mentioned it. No-one bothered to do any research. Typical British politics and media, in other words.
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4) I remain astonished that after his 'attempt to gain concessions' from the EU ahead of the referendum (a sham, in which everyone went through the motions), Cameron didn't simply say "let's bring in ID cards and end freedom of movement as we know it".
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5) But then, maybe that's because the whole concept of ID cards was toxic thanks to Blair. We have them in Uruguay where I live; they're essential. There's been no invasion into my personal liberty: they're part of being a fully integrated, assimilated member of society here.
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6) I assume Britain's interpretation of freedom of movement was so different because we needed constant mass immigration for our low wage, 'flexible' (read: disgracefully easy to fire someone) economy. Another indictment of let it rip neoliberalism; and of both Blair and Cameron.
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7) But the problem with this interpretation was: in a country which doesn't invest in services, doesn't build new homes, doesn't create good jobs, it's no good pointing to statistics about how FoM has had little or no impact on low skilled wages. It's worse than useless doing so.
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8) Because in an ever more insecure job market, with ever-increasing rents, a health service under more and more pressure and over-subscribed local schools, it involves telling people "what you see every day with your own eyes is wrong - and if you disagree, you're a racist".
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9) Naturally, this alienated and angered more and more working class voters: pushing them into Tory and UKIP hands. UKIP especially had a catastrophic effect on Labour in 2015: not least because Miliband opposed EU referendum, so wanted to deny giving the people a voice on this.
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10) To win these people back, Labour had to go along with Brexit. Many MPs will tell you that in 2017, they'd have had the door slammed in their faces by voters if Labour had wanted to overturn the referendum. Backing Brexit gave them a chance to persuade them on other issues.
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11) The political climate over immigration in the UK is a symptom. Not of horrible racists having taken the place over - but of ordinary working class people having been horrendously let down and ignored for decades. And at times of economic struggle, people move towards extremes
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12) Of course, during the referendum campaign, Leave never bothered telling anyone that to end freedom of movement as practiced by the UK, we'd have to leave the single market. Had the public realised this, the outcome might well have been different.
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13) As it was, Theresa May's ridiculous, non-deliverable red lines landed the UK in this shambolic mess. Anyone among the EU negotiating team or its many governments will tell you: those red lines caused all the trouble we're having now.
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14) What, though, can Labour do? How do they keep that critical working class support - people who've seen so much ineptly handled mass immigration over the last 15 years - without themselves supporting an end to freedom of movement? I don't think they can.
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15) They can certainly speak up for all those EU citizens in the UK, or UK citizens in the EU. They can certainly rail against the government's mad immigration policies which are thunderously inept and economically illiterate beyond belief. But they can't stop FoM ending.
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16) What can they do instead? Well, once again, it's about values. It's about rebuilding the country. If a Labour government successfully does that, just watch all that anti-immigration sentiment melt away. That's what happens when people feel their lives getting better.
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17) And when in government, they can also end the disgusting violence of our current policies towards refugees and asylum seekers: policies which amounted to 'let them drown' in 2015, and which send Afghans back to their deaths, or Nigerians into sex trafficking. Monstrous.
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18) Just as they can end the utter lunacy of sending overseas students away from the UK the moment they graduate - and making their lives a misery, treating them like virtual criminals, while they're here. This isn't just vile; it's economic madness.
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19) A Labour government can control our borders but be humane, dignified and compassionate with it. By contrast, I don't think Theresa May regards foreigners - apart from rich ones, that is - even as fully paid-up members of the human race.
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20) You know what one of my biggest dreams for a Labour government is? It's that they change the country so completely - restoring its values, its empathy, its basic decency - that The Sun, The Mail and The Express, vile peddlers of hate, go out of business. Imagine that!
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21) But it's a process. It takes time. All the failings of so many governments of the past 40 years are the reason for that. So when you come across anti-immigrant attitudes, don't point the finger. Don't hector. Listen, engage, try and change minds and take people with you.
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22) I'm not always the best at that myself. I get angry way too fast - as do so many on the left, as injustice towards our fellow humans is what gets the steam coming from our ears quickest. But many of those worried about immigration are themselves often victims, often ignored.
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23) My heart bleeds for all those stuck in limbo right now: including my sister, who lives in the EU and has a very uncertain future. That they're in this situation is an absolute disgrace, and a whopping indictment of this appalling government.
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24) It doesn't bleed for arrogant muppets like most (but not all) of those in this video ----> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9FggJE1HjY … And it certainly doesn't bleed for ABSOLUTE NUMPTIES like this chap here -----> https://twitter.com/RemainerNow/status/1076096196932968448 …https://twitter.com/RemainerNow/status/1076096295356506112 …
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25) See - told you I wasn't the best at not judging others!
Of course, the example above is of someone who didn't realise what he was voting for. But we are where we are. Only a Labour government can create the kind of open, welcoming UK people feel proud of again.Show this thread -
26) And you know why that's so crucial - even beyond humane, moral grounds? We have an ageing population. We NEED immigration, plenty of it, to pay for healthcare and pensions. That's one of the greatest ironies of all: old people effectively voting against their own interests
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27) Anecdote from some years back: two old people sitting in my local GP surgery complaining about immigration. I asked who their doctors were. "Dr Shah" said one. "Dr Patel" said the other. You couldn't make it up.
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28) And this from the mighty Beast of Bolsover tells its own majestic story. Dennis Skinner: We Are Not Worthy.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5CcTGN0a8M …
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29) But as I say, it'll take time. Maybe not as long as some might fear - but rebuilding Britain from bottom up will be an ongoing process. A bold one, an exciting one, an energising one. Don't despair. With Labour, this country will become a beacon of light and hope again. /ENDS
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