A Mug's Game – Andy Burnham and Immigration

A Greater Manchester perspective? 

So out of the blue, as part of the campaign to be elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, comes a report that ‘The free movement of people within the European Union has made British streets unsafe’.

And that “The status quo – full free movement – was defeated at the ballot box and therefore not an option. We need to make the argument for an immigration system that allows for greater control, reduce the numbers coming here, but does so in a fair way.”

The UKIP policy on immigration bases itself on fairness [1] . But these quotes are not from UKIP, they are from the Labour Party candidate Andy Burnham [2].

My first reaction was a less polite version of ‘Goodness me’, but a quick google search shows Burnham has been back and forth on the issue over time [3].

From his leadership campaign against Jeremy Corbyn last year he said "What I would say as shadow home secretary is that from here we need to review how freedom of movement works in practice and look at some of those issues that Jeremy Corbyn has raised in this campaign. Issues like, pressures on public services, because often its the more deprived communities that have to absorb that pressure without extra funding. That can't be right," he said. "It also can't be right that people can be brought in from other countries when their employment is still in their country of origin and then employed here to undercut wages - there needs to be a review." [4]

Typical right wing positioning is to put deprivation and immigration next to each other in an argument and let the public make the association. So to make the argument on ‘pressures on public services’, its ‘freedom of movement’ that’s the issue more than cuts and austerity. Not that those services have been cut to the bone but that they need ‘extra funding’ because of the ‘freedom of movement’.

So let me place Andy Burnham, UKIP, Tories, xenophobia, and racism next to each other but not make any association.

Its painful that I can’t write a positive response to this position from the Labour candidate.

My family are immigrants, my friends are. My neighbours, colleagues, my children’s friends, the people I buy from, the people I read.

And it’s a choice. What starting point do you take on what the people of Greater Manchester think?

Burnham says “The 700,000 people in Greater Manchester who voted to leave – many of them lifelong Labour voters – voted for change on immigration. I am quite clear about that and that has to be our starting point in this debate.” [5]

Well mine is “600,000 people in Greater Manchester are living in extreme poverty, they voted to change this so how do we get them out of it” [6]

This immigration language is an insult and we don’t need or want it in Greater Manchester.

As far as I’m concerned, Andy can pack his bags and his ‘Controls on Immigration mug’ and go back to Westminster where he belongs.

Notes

1. http://www.ukip.org/ukip_launches_immigration_policy

2. http://uk.businessinsider.com/andy-burnham-claimed-eu-immigration-risks-violence-on-the-streets-2016-12

3. http://order-order.com/2016/09/28/andy-burnham-immigration-flip-flop/

4. http://www.cityam.com/244029/eu-referendum-andy-burnham-says-immigration-works-practice

5. https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/political-parties/labour-party/andy-burnham/news/81532/andy-burnham-blasts-labour-support

6. http://www.cles.org.uk/news/half-of-greater-manchester-households-in-danger-of-falling-below-poverty-line-report-says/

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Corbyn, Trump and the Prince from Across the Sea

Your Choice

Currently the country is in political, financial and social turmoil. With the lack of a clear leadership voice for the country, its difficult to see a way forward. The upper class leaders of the Leave Europe campaign have fled and the two largest parties are embroiled in internal power struggles.

For us, the massive surge of support for Jeremy Corbyn has been a concern, so far left unanswered by the Greens. 

Can it be argued that joining Labour in support of Corbyn is potentially a dangerous thing?

Here is a scenario that starts with suggesting that Jeremy Corbyn and Donald Trump find themselves in exactly the same position.

Putting the difference in politics aside, both are outsiders elected to leadership by their memberships over the wishes of their party representatives, with both sets of representatives having tried to remove their new leaders.

In England, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is currently trying VERY hard to remove its leader. But it is being checked by its grassroots activists (and in particular the Momentum movement) buoyed by a massive surge in membership.

Momentum

Momentum in particular seems powerful. As most of the new joiners are specifically joining in support of Jeremy Corbyn, and engaging with Momentum to do so, it is clearly the strongest organising force in the party. 

But if Corbyn stays, with their support, the PLP though in retreat, is not going anywhere. 

So what now?  With weak alternative PLP candidates and a strong Momentum, is it stalemate until the next attempted coup? Maybe. 

Part of the strength of Momentum's position is that there is no viable, strong enough candidate within the PLP that can challenge them, challenge Corbyn. And that is true.

The Prince from across the Sea

On the assumption that there is no snap election called, one possibility could be that the 'Prince from across the Sea' would break the deadlock. 

This Prince could regain a seat in a by-election and position himself as, not just coming back to lead the Labour Party but to save the country. He would have the support of the PLP, be of wide enough appeal to the country that the grassroots activists would grudgingly accept him. And so he would defeat Corbyn in a leadership election, at the same time breaking Momentum across his knee.

A defeated Corbyn would be a massive blow to the progressive movement in the country.

Only the progressive alliance talked of with the SNP, Greens and Plaid Cymru could possibly defeat both the government and keep the Prince at bay.

Building that alliance cannot be focussed on joining Labour, its too unstable a situation. While the party is likely to keep hitting itself in the face for the foreseeable future, in England, a larger Green Party has to be a better bet.

In the meantime, the Prince, David Miliband continues to comment in the US media.

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Brexit, Racism and Accountability

Brexit - Voting to Leave

Brexit surprises - the ‘Out’ result itself, who voted out and the ensuing political turmoil.

Generally, the media has characterised those who voted out as the disenfranchised white working class, and given the spread of the ‘Out’ vote, this applies to most of the country.

The rise in attacks and abuse against Asians, Blacks and Europeans has been swift. Many column inches have been devoted to ‘Shock’, pointing to the effects of austerity and the words of grey, white people in small towns.

But England and its people hasn't substantially changed over the years and certainly not since the EU referendum vote. For some, it would seem, are now more comfortable being openly racist because, through the vote, they believe most people think like them.

And the fault for this lies squarely with the leaders of this country.

Recently, too many politicians have taken Race and used it to demonise as a cover for the negative consequences of their policies or the deficit in their thinking.

They have 'weaponised' it.

Race played a major part in last year’s General Election with the main parties all promising to be tough on immigrants and doing nothing to dampen down the resulting xenophobia. 

The Labour Party even produced its infamous 'Controls on Immigration' mugs.

The recent London Mayoral campaign was openly Islamophobic.

The use of high levels of fear by BOTH the Remain and Brexit campaigns was new, with Brexit basing their fear platform on immigration and Europeans.

That immigrants and Europe have been the main cause of England's problems – lack of services, housing, jobs - was not only a central plank of Brexit but also often used by the government over the years.

By voting 'Out', the majority of the public accepted these argument.

What have politicians been doing to allay these fears? 

Nothing. 

Leadership battles have turned politicians inward instead of outwards to the country. No-one is trying to close the wounds this campaign has opened.

A pox on all their houses. Blame for this situation should be pointed in the right direction.

So what does this mean for the Greens?

• The national leadership to be much more vocal about their anti-racist policies and practices.
• Hold any racist, xenophobic actions and policies of the other parties to account.
• Local parties to be much faster to condemn racist incidents wherever they happen in the country.
• Show more diversity in its leadership platform.Its done that relatively successfully over the last couple of years with Shahrar Ali and Amelia Womack presenting a different complexion to its membership, Natalie Bennett covering almost every inch of the country in support of local members and Caroline Lucas retaining her popularity with the press.

If though, as a party, we are going back to having a white, middle aged, middle class leadership, that is a statement in itself.

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Comment: Europe - A Mistimed Referendum

This post is my personal view.

Galloway and Farage

“…unless I have blood as the Law says all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water.” So demanded the White Queen at a pivotal point in her conflict with Aslan in the children’s book ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’.

It does not seem so different from how both the Bremain and Brexit campaigns have presented their doom-ladened cases. In the last days of the campaign, things have become calmer. Its taken blood to make it so.

Both sides of this campaign have been, lets say, ‘misleading’.  

Brexit quite simply have often lied and have been quite open about not being sure what leaving the EU will mean for the country (given that they will be antagonising their main trading partner) but are hopeful British ‘pluck’ will pull them through. It won’t. For all the talk of ‘freedom’ the campaign has talked about, its been poorly outlined and arguments, often irrational.

Bremain point to the social and environmental safeguards that Europe has and does provide that maybe lost if we leave the EU, the travel freedoms and shared work opportunities all gone forever. No. Some of these things are under threat anyway but Europe has and does so far, provide a safety net from some of the wilder schemes of this somewhat extremist government.

On both sides political enemies line up alongside AND against each other arguing together that the other side is wrong. The most striking image of this (for me) was George Galloway sharing a platform with Nigel Farage for the ‘Leave’ campaign. Anti-racist and racist campaigners arguing for ‘freedom’..? No wonder people are confused and campaigners on the ground much less certain than their publicity materials.

And why is this happening anyway? Has anything substantial changed in the EU recently? 

No.

But the EU IS changing. Its becoming much more right wing and ‘neo-liberal’. Its promotion of austerity, its treatment of poor EU nations particularly Greece has been sickening, and the treatment of refugees coming to and within its borders has been shameful.

But as important is the current and coming TTIP issue, the trade agreement  currently being negotiated between the US and Europe. Most of the current focus in the UK has been on keeping the NHS out of its reach but TTIP will be so much more than that.

The Bremain argument on TTIP is weak at best and Brexit does not have one.

This referendum and more importantly, its timing, is from a ill-thought through campaign promise from David Cameron. As it is, its pointless.

The time to have the vote on whether or not to stay in Europe will be at the presentation of the TTIP trade agreement. At that point the country will have a much clearer idea of Europe’s direction of travel and be able to decide if that’s the direction it wants to go in.

For me the question is when TTIP comes, will the UK have a referendum?

Until then it’s a weak Yes to Remain.

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