Labour MPs urge Burnham to ditch Mahmood’s ‘hostile rhetoric’ on immigration – UK politics live

From 25m agoHere are more extracts from the letter to Andy Burnham signed by nearly 80 Labour MPs urging him to adopt a more liberal stance on immigration. (See 9.24am.)

The MPs claim the government’s language on immigration has been too hostile. double quotation markImmigration and asylum is a test case for how we do so. Polling in this area shows that most voters are “balancers” who understand the benefits and the costs of migration.

In this group, some prioritise order and control; while others prioritise compassion, justice and rights. We must speak to both groups simultaneously and persuasively. Currently, we are seen to talk much more about control than compassion.

And when we talk about compassion, progressives do not believe us because our hostile rhetoric has already alienated them. That rhetoric also raises the salience of asylum as a problem in the minds of those already anxious about lack of control. Our approach needs a refresh.

They suggest that measures introduced during Labour’s first year in office (when Yvette Cooper was home secretary) are working. double quotation markTalking tough is not the same as effective action. The reductions in the asylum backlogs, in small boat crossings and in hotel use that we have seen are the fruits of what our Labour Government started in its first 12 months or so.

We also started an asylum accommodation pilot with local authorities - to regionalise the system and move away from rip-off private contracts. We pursued greater international co-operation - like the UK-France pilot, and persuading Germany to amend its criminal law on small boat parts. We were starting to do what we promised: controlling our borders while making the asylum system work fairly.

They call for “a national migration levels plan”. double quotation markThis should set out expected migration flows, labour market needs, public service impacts and policy choices, all supported by an annual statement to Parliament. It should form a core part of our mission to raise living standards over the next decade through delivering good growth in every postcode.

They set out various policy proposals, including allowing asylum seekers the right to work after six months. double quotation markOn asylum and refugees, we must start by stripping out the hostile rhetoric which triggers existing anxieties. We must also deliver an efficient asylum system, which should include: closing asylum hotels and investing savings into national housing stock; improving the asylum accommodation system - starting with progressing local authority pilots that have been paused; ending rip-off contracts and the privatisation premium; tackling the appeals backlog by resourcing the existing appeals body properly; and building a coalition of willing countries around a future vision for refugee protection that is not reliant on irregular migration.

We need an expansion of managed asylum routes, a review of the pause on family reunion for unaccompanied minors, and the introduction of the right to work for asylum seekers after six months. Key events15m agoLabour welcomes police investigation into donations to Reform UK from fraudster's mother23m agoBurnham will be 'faster and bolder' delivering change than Starmer, Lisa Nandy claims25m ago'Talking tough not same as effective action' - extracts from letter from Labour MPs calling for 'refresh' on migration policy40m agoAnn Widdecombe, former Tory MP and Reform UK member, dies aged 781h agoBurnham urged by MPs to ditch Mahmood’s migrant settlement plans to stop Labour being ‘pale imitation’ of Reform UKLibby Brooks has written her First Edition briefing about the Reform UK funding scandal. It features an interview with Anna Isaac, who broke the story about Farage’s undisclosed £5m donation and who has led the Guardian’s coverage of this controversy.

Friday briefing: Inside our investigation of Nigel Farage and Reform’s deepening financial scandalRead moreThe Labour party has welcomed the news that the Metropolitan police are investigating donations worth £500,000 made to Reform UK by Fiona Cottrell, whose son George is a convicted fraudster and a friend and aide to Nigel Farage. Anna Turley, the Labour party chair, said: double quotation markNigel Farage can run against a bin in his distraction byelection, but he can’t hide from legitimate questions. Why did the mother of the convicted criminal who secretly bankrolled him donate half a million pounds to Reform UK?

Where did the money come from? Why did George Cottrell have such a prominent role in his operation without having an actual job? It’s right that the Metropolitan Police are looking into this.

The British public know when they’re being taken for fools – if Nigel Farage could clear his name, he would have done it by now. Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, was on the Today programme this morning. She is close to Andy Burnham (they represent neighbouring constituencies) and she said two things would be different when he became PM