Labour wants to be a nasty party too
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When asked by Question Time presenter David Dimbleby what Labour had to say to those who wanted to see immigration cut, Mr Umunna said: "I think on low-skill immigration we believe there was too much of it from the European Union. I think there is one important thing about the European Union, the founders of the European Union had in mind free movement of workers not free movement of jobseekers."http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25678829
He's wrong. The Treaty of Rome envisages the free movement of of job-seeking workers as well as of profit-seeking capital. Otherwise there wouldn't be a genuine single common market. And he's a fool too for jumping on the anti-immigrant bandwagon set rolling by UKIP as there's no telling where it will end or as to who "immigrant" as a term of abuse will be applied.
With my usual refrain, does the situation offer us an opening to produce a pamphlet and expand our online educational section on immigration and migrant workers to link to on discussion lists and comments sections of the press when we strive to counter the propaganda.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-labour-will-make-jobless-take-maths-and-english-tests-9070660.html The jobless would lose their unemployment benefit under a Labour Government if they failed a “basic skills test” and refused training. Get on your bike replaced by get back to school.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4e3ed714-7f87-11e3-b6a7-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl#axzz2qqtSRmhhLaid on the line“The big difference between 1979 and 2013 is that we are all capitalists now,” says Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary and a former corporate lawyer “The question is what sort of capitalism do we want? We embrace free markets but we want competitive and free markets and more responsible capitalism.”
Quote:“The big difference between 1979 and 2013 is that we are all capitalists now,” says Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary and a former corporate lawyer “The question is what sort of capitalism do we want? We embrace free markets but we want competitive and free markets and more responsible capitalism.”This is a killer quote we're going to be able to use time and again. Already it will be in a local leaflet we are preparing in the run up in the local elections in Lambeth in May (he's the MP for Streatham which is part of Lambeth).
From Monday's Times:
Quote:The set text of Mr Miliband's leadership on this issue is Varieties of Capitalism, a book of essays edited by political economists Peter Hall and David Soskice. It identifies two models under which to run a capitalist economy: "liberal" (such as Britain and the US) and "co-ordinated" (such as Germany and Sweden). Can Miliband switch Britain from the former to the latter category?Probably not, but even if he could it would still be a "variety of capitalism" with all the problems capitalism causes, as workers in Germany and Sweden will know all too well.
Lets blame the immigrant yet againhttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/may/31/labour-tough-line-mass-migration "we believe that the lack of affordable housing, school places, hospital capacity and transport infrastructure to accommodate this influx of people means that poorer people's living standards have been squeezed."No, not the cuts under Labour or Cameron austerity cuts…but the influx of immigrants is to blame. "reform of the 'freedom of movement' to 'fair movement'," stating that any labour market needs "rules not complete freedom"." "They claim that the party's position as it stands is not radical enough." i suppose if i was pedantic the use of radical may be accurate but the correct sentence should read: "They claim that the party's position as it stands is not reactionary enough."
Now let's attack the unemployed and the young to prove how nasty we can be too !Benefits for under 21s means tested and even removed. Introduction of a two-tier Job Seeker Allowance. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-27911518http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/18/labour-welfare-plan-benefits-means-testing-training-ed-miliband"not designed to be punitive, but to incentivise"…uh-huh….. and this will hurt me more than it will hurt you, as they say
Heard Ed Balls on the radio yesterday trying to jump on the current anti-immigrant bandwagon by saying that the Labour government had made a mistake in 2004 in allowing straightaway unlimited immigration from Poland, etc when they joined the EU (they could have delayed this for 5 years as was done when Rumania and Bulgaria joined).But the "mistake" here was to believe and act on the basis of Gordon Brown's claim to have eliminated the boom/slump cycle. The Labour government assumed in 2004 that boom conditions would continue and so that an inflow of workers would be needed. The boom came to an end in 2008 so not so many immigrant workers were required. But they will be if/when the recovery speeds up. At that point the anti-immigrant bandwagon will slow to a halt even if UKIP get off and try to push it on.
Now he is appealing to his pay-mastersLabour will be "pro-business but not business as usual", he will say, arguing that the party's plan to crack down on energy companies and banks is ultimately good for companies as it will help restore faith in an open-market economy…the CBI reacted positively to the proposals put forward by Balls, saying a competitive business tax system is "crucial for future growth"http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/29/labour-olive-branch-business-corporation-tax-investment
Here's a photo of a Labour Party leaflet pushed through people's letterboxes in Haringey last night:If you can't read it clearly this is what it says:
Quote:Labour's tough new approach to immigrationIt's fair that before drawing on the welfare state, people should first make a contribution to it.That's why Labour will stop people claiming benefits until they have lived here for at least two years.The Tories have lost control of our borders and have no idea who is coming in or out of the country. That's why Labour will bring in 1,000 extra border staff to count people in and out of the country as well as fingerprint checks to clamp down on illegal immigrants.People who rely on public services have a right to expect that staff, like nurses and care workers, can speak English. That is why Labour will make sure that all frontline public sector staff can speak English.Nasty stuff. Real nasty stuff.But which is worse: People like UKIP who really believe this or people like Labour who only pretend to so as to win votes?
I think Farage will draw attention to this distasteful leaflet and say it is too right wing even for him.
How low can Labour go…i know…scabby scum lowhttps://shop.labour.org.uk/products/pledge-4-mug-controls-on-immigration-551/
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