Starmer has made a speech on immigration. I have not listened to it but I have read reports about it. He is right to encourage immigrants to speak English (though it can be argued they should also speak Welsh if in Wales). But the rest of the speech, not too sure about it. The UK benefits from managed migration. The NHS is reliant on it, as is care work. Our economy benefited from immigration when we were part of the EU. Immigrants came in, worked, contributed to the economy and paid the the taxes needed for public services. Immigration has enriched the culture of the UK. It is normal for many to eat Chinese food for example. Robin Cook made a speech about Chicken Tikka Masala, a dish made in the UK, thanks to immigration. Immigration has also contributed to sports, and with Rishi Sunak, politics as well. While there are many other examples of how immigration has benefited our great nation, I will remind people that the Royal Family are descended from immigrants.
Yes, there have been a downside to immigration, when it comes to people not speaking the native language, but this is not just an issue limited to the UK, not just in the past, but also the present, though I will apologise if it turns out that Isabel Oakeshott has learned Arabic.
What Labour should have learned from the local elections is to broadcast what they are doing with deportations. Labour, or the Conservatives, cannot beat Farage when it comes to limiting immigration, legal or otherwise.