Backbencher tells Abbott: Labour must listen to public concern on immigration

Labour must make an effort to listen to the “reasonable and fair” concerns of voters over immigration, a leading backbencher said today after Diane Abbott demanded the party does not try to “out-UKIP UKIP”.

Ian Austin, MP for Dudley North, argued in a LabourList piece that Labour needs to respond to voter anxiety over how immigration affects recruitment and the enforcement of the minimum wage – or take the risk that the public will not listen to the party’s arguments on the NHS and other issues.

He warned those thinking of turning a blind eye to voter concerns on immigration, saying: “changing the subject pushes people with reasonable concerns about immigration towards extreme parties that exploit the issue and fan the flames.”

Austin said he had sent out “thousands of surveys and held hundreds of community meetings” on key issues, including on immigration, in his constituency, which is part of a Black Country market town.

The backbencher, who did not seek a frontbench role under Jeremy Corbyn, said most people are “reasonable, fair and pragmatic when it comes to immigration and other contentious issues” and that research shows most people want some controls, but not a closed border.

Abbott, the shadow home secretary, this week confirmed she would also take on the role of shadow immigration minister, which has been vacant since Sir Keir Starmer was promoted to the role of shadow Brexit Secretary.

Austin was critical of Abbott’s stance, which she laid out in a LabourList article earlier this week, saying she was trying to halt legitimate debate.

“Not for the first time, Diane Abbott is trying to prevent Labour MPs discussing immigration by accusing them of trying to “outdo UKIP”. It isn’t just offensive nonsense – it is a disastrous electoral strategy too.”

He accused Abbott of “patronising” the public by framing the debate as two simple positions of being either “favourable or hostile” to immigration which leads to “detailed discussion of serious and complex issues” being squeezed out.