sockwithaticket wrote: ↑Wed Oct 05, 2022 8:59 am
I like neeps wrote: ↑Wed Oct 05, 2022 7:23 am
Not sure why Labour are playing the we'll be tougher on illegal immigration than Tories line. They'll never be more hateful (although they might try). And what do they think will happen? Illegal immigration to the UK is small part of people escaping conflict and climate breakdown across ME and Africa coming into Europe. Neither of the parties will "fix it". The press who have turned up Patel, will turn on Braverman will absolutely savage whoever Labour's Home Sec is too.
I don't think pointing out Tory failure by their own criteria and 'process claims quicker and send back people who don't have a genuine claim to be here' = an avowed intent to be tougher on illegal migrants than the Tories.
As attack lines that don't actually propose your own policy go, it wasn't a bad one.
On another tack, a non-insignificant portion of Labour's traditional support base do have what could generously be termed as concerns about immigration. That can't be ignored if power is sought, it's the sort of emotive issue which has turned votes.
Neeps is correct.
As soon as Labour are in power much of the print media (which is strongly Tory) will start attacking Labour on immigration. They've only stopped moaning as much because it's reached all time highs under the Tories, and the change in composition (more non-EU) is entirely about Brexit, the same Tories and Brexit they support. As soon as Labour are in power, it's going to be like a greatest hits of blaming Labour for immigration and a tabloid frontpage obsession. The fact that mass migration into the UK started before Labour won in 1997 and increased after they lost in 2010, will not matter. It's a discussion that happens in a Tory alternate reality, they don't care about immigration it's just a means of getting every bigot/racist to support them. Labour can never win on this, because the discussion is about Labour losing.
The big difference now is Labour are ahead despite the tabloids and right wing media. If Labour win it'll be the first time in at least 40 years the tabloids and most of the print media haven't supported the winner, they're not switching to Labour now after all the lies they've told about Brexit then the support for Johnson and then Truss, they're too invested. It's not just the owners and editors either, individual journalists have dirtied themselves too much. Many of them haven't forgotten Starmer from the phone hacking scandal, and fear him much more than Corbyn. If Labour wins it'll expose that much of the media and their declining readership doesn't matter as much as it did, and should be ignored just like Tories ignore The Guardian. If Labour still decide to play the tabloid game then they'll find they cannot please them, and end up in some situation as crazy as being unable to defend EU membership. Labour wasn't helped by Brown apologising for his "bigoted woman" remark, he should've said that eastern Europeans the bigoted woman wasn't happy about were working and paying taxes, not stealing her benefits as she seemed to think.