Miliband faces pressure over immigration policy following Heywood and Middleton by-election

Following the results of the Heywood and Middleton by-election, where Labour triumphed but with a mere 617 vote margin ahead of second-place Ukip, there were calls last night from MPs for Miliband to firm up Labour’s immigration policy.

Miliband has come out and said “It is not prejudiced to worry about immigration”. But some Labour MPs are concerned that the party isn’t clear enough on immigration.  Former foreign secretary Jack Straw has” “We were right to concentrate on the NHS. We’ve also, however, got to be stronger about our messages on immigration as well.”

Much in the same vein John Mann MP, called on Miliband to “announce that we’re prepared to renegotiate our role and position in the European Union and stop the automatic free flow of labour.”

However, this is by no means a view shared by everyone within the party. Diane Abbott MP spoke out in a Guardian article yesterday, warning that Labour shouldn’t pander to Ukip’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. She explained, “A helter-skelter rush to the right on race, immigration and welfare will not work. For one thing, if we choose to fight the next general election on a Ukip agenda, Labour will never be able to move far enough to the right on these issues to suit Ukip voters. And the danger is that, in trying to move right on immigration, we will alienate other voters.”