Inside Blue Labour: ‘Open borders are the capitalist’s dream’

As part of our Labour Tribes project, in partnership with PLMR, LabourList is taking an in-depth look at the different groups, factions, and caucuses that shape the current Parliamentary Labour Party.

Amid ongoing debate within the PLP about immigration and how to address the Reform threat, Blue Labour has been among the biggest champions of Shabana Mahmood’s reforms. As he prepares to take the reins of the parliamentary caucus, LabourList spoke to Jonathan Hinder ahead of Labour Party conference about “common sense values”, winning back populist-leaning voters, and the group’s more left-wing economic stance.

‘We’ve been too accepting of the Thatcherite settlement’

Hinder describes himself and his Blue Labour colleagues as socialists, arguing their politics are rooted in both the party’s history and what he calls “working-class common sense values”. 

He argued that Labour has left working-class communities behind, with the emergence of New Labour marking an important moment in that detachment – claiming the party moved too far to the left on social issues, while failing to go far enough in challenging the economic settlement established under Thatcher.

“It goes back quite a long way, and I’m conscious about not pinning it on any particular leader, group or way of thinking – but the New Labour years were a key component of it.

“A lot of working-class people have very left-wing values, which I would share in terms of the economy. But where they feel that we have left them is those social issues, things like immigration and national identity.

“We’ve both been too left-wing to some extent on the cultural issues, but not left-wing enough, not radical enough, on the economic issues. We’ve been too accepting of the Thatcherite settlement in my view, which is something Andy [Burnham] has tapped into. He’s energising people with this idea that we’ve got an economic model which has had its day, is broken, and we need a new one.”

‘Keir Starmer’s government was nowhere near a Blue Labour government’

For Hinder, Blue Labour occupies a position that calls for a radical overhaul of the economy, not dissimilar to the view of some of his Labour colleagues in groups like the Socialist Campaign Group, but with a tougher stance on migration, backing the police and doing more to restore the “dignity of work”.

He points to his own constituency of Pendle and Clitheroe as an example of the coalition Labour should now pursue.

The Lancashire seat contains a range of voter groups, as well as industrial areas, prosperous market towns and a significant Muslim population alongside the white working-class community.

“There’s huge variety of different voter groups to be considering, so it keeps you very grounded about what’s important to all those different groups.”

Against that backdrop, Hinder says he has been encouraged by the themes and policies being discussed by Andy Burnham in his first few months as Prime Minister, particularly on his focus on reindustrialisation and public ownership.

Alongside Burnham’s decision to keep Shabana Mahmood as Home Secretary, Hinder believes the start to Burnham’s term has been positive – but warned that the pledges being made need to be acted on and delivered too.

“There are a lot of signs that we’re going in the right direction, but what I would say is that these kinds of things have been used in a rhetorical way before. In 2024, we talked about buying and making more in Britain, but we didn’t quite see the delivery.

“Keir Starmer’s government was nowhere near a Blue Labour government, but I hope what we’re actually hearing leads to tangible moves in those directions – so I’m cautiously optimistic.”

‘Reforming council tax would be the most brilliant tax reform you could imagine’

With the Budget looming in just over a month’s time, Hinder urged Chancellor John Healey to deliver on a policy he has been campaigning passionately in favour of – reform of council tax.

“It would be the most brilliant tax reform you could imagine, because it would cut taxes for most people in the country. It also would to some extent tax wealth, which we know we want to do more of, rather than people’s work – and it’s also good for the property market.

“Critically, for the Chancellor, this is revenue neutral, so it doesn’t cost you anything.

“That’s what I want to see. Whether it’s in this Budget, I’m not necessarily sure it will be – but I know Andy and Lou Haigh have both talked about how mad the current system is.”

Hinder also said he would like to see the government spend less on welfare and more on infrastructure spending and capital investment.

“We don’t just want it to be a simple cut, a salami slice; it should be a reform which supports more people into work. That’s how I would envisage us spending less in the future in that area.”

READ MORE: Labour Party Conference 2026: Full LabourList events programme, revealed

‘I can’t get our message across, because immigration dominates so often’

However, it is immigration where Hinder believes Blue Labour is currently making its most distinctive contribution within the party.

He acknowledged that there is a risk that the group becomes defined solely by this one issue, but argues that the issue is too important to many voters for Labour to shirk.

“It’s such a salient issue in the country that I think it’s hard for it not to be noticed that perhaps we are more aligned with the country on thinking it’s important to get control of it than perhaps other parts of the party.”

He explained that immigration comes up “all the time” when he speaks to voters in his constituency, including people who might otherwise be receptive to Labour’s economic message.

“What I would say to people on this particular issue is it might not be the most important issue to you, but what I would say as a Labour MP is I can’t get our message across on other things, because this dominates so often.

“People are losing faith in politics because of this issue, because it is such a basic test of state competence.”

‘If we sorted out immigration, what would Reform have left?’

It is that sentiment that, in Hinder’s view, has pushed traditional Labour voters towards Nigel Farage and Reform UK, despite their right-wing economic position.

“People are not voting for them because of their economic policies. People in Pendle and Clitheroe generally are not really excited about reheated Thatcherism and free market orthodoxy. They’re voting for them because of immigration.

“People feel they haven’t been listened to for a quarter of a century; under New Labour and then under the Conservatives. If we sorted out the immigration issue, and I’ve talked about not only stopping the boats but also getting legal migration down to a rough balance between immigration and emigration – if we did that, what would Reform have left?”

‘Open borders is the capitalist’s dream’

Hinder argued that calling for lower immigration is compatible with a left-wing economic model – and rejected the idea that opposing higher levels of migration is an inherently conservative stance.

He said that, rather than relying on cheap labour from abroad, employers should be encouraged to train and pay workers already living in the UK, which would work to address the challenges the government faces with NEETs and the need to reindustrialise Britain.

“Open borders is the capitalist’s dream, because you can get people who are willing to work for much lower wages to do difficult manual work that you would otherwise have to pay people who are already here more.

“Don’t listen to me, listen to Bernie Sanders; he’s made this exact argument – I don’t think anyone would accuse him of being right-wing.

“It’s very coherent, as far as I am concerned; skill up the local population in different parts of the country, and actually pay them well to do these kinds of jobs – rather than pulling for that lever every time which says ‘mass migration’ to fill those jobs.

“Obviously, in the short term, there will be areas where for whatever reason we haven’t got the people we need in a particular sector – and we’re really grateful for people who come over and work in our hospitals or our farms, but it shouldn’t be an easy answer for those businesses.

“There will always be immigration, but it’s about it being controlled and in the interests of the national economy.”

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‘If you’re a socialist, you should have control of who’s coming in’

Crucially, Hinder argues that voters who express concerns about immigration should not be dismissed as racist, warning that Labour can fall into the trap of doing so.

“In many cases, it’s about control and it’s about having views respected – we’re happy with immigration, but controlled, low-level and with integration.

“It’s not about race, and I think we often do fall into this trap of saying to people if you’re concerned about immigration, you’re racist. We’re long past that.

“This nation, I think, is the least racist on Earth. We are an amazing country. I cannot think of a better place on that score in the Western world, I genuinely can’t think of a better place.

“As far as I’m concerned, if you’re a socialist, you should have control of who’s coming in and you shouldn’t be apologetic for that. It’s very consistent with socialist political economy.” 

‘Blue Labour is well aligned with vast majority of Britons’

Outside of the immigration debate, Blue Labour has been critical of the ‘hyper-liberal’ stance Labour has taken on social issues in the past. The group attracted some backlash last year after calling for government ministers to “root out DEI” and “utterly reject divisive identity politics.”

Hinder, however, rejects suggestions that Blue Labour is in any way misogynistic or against LGBT people in their approach – and argues the group reflects the views of “common sense Britain”.

“We have an amazing country, where the vast majority of people don’t give a flying toss whether you are a man or a woman, gay or straight, black or white. There is no issue there; it’s just where that takes the mick. It’s about the obsession with identity over people’s ability. Don’t we want to judge people by what they’re actually like?

“I think it’s a bit of a caricature. I can understand why people use it to attack our thinking, but if you went out into the country, it would be very well aligned with the vast majority of Britons.”

‘There is a huge coalition to be built around left-leaning economics and common sense on other issues’

While Blue Labour’s focus is primarily through the prism of winning back voters lured by Nigel Farage, Hinder argues the group can also appeal to Green-leaning voters too – particularly those who support a more radical economic programme but have become frustrated with Labour’s perceived failure to go far enough.

“When I speak to someone who might be considering voting Green, I can find a lot of common ground on these left-leaning economic issues.

“They’ve been disappointed that we haven’t been radical enough – and I totally get that. Young people who are involved in politics look at Labour and think they aren’t really shaking things up enough. Hopefully Burnham can tap into that – I think he has so far.”

With a combination of appealing to a more radical socialist approach to the economy and a more socially conservative approach on immigration, Hinder thinks Labour can tap into a broad coalition of voters.

“I really feel there is a huge coalition to be built around that left-leaning economics, but common sense on the other issues.

“Huge numbers of voters are in that bracket, so we should be looking for that common ground, and hopefully Burnham can occupy that space and we’ll win the next election.”

How Blue Labour hopes to shape Burnham’s government

What would Hinder like to see Burnham deliver in the coming years – and demonstrate Blue Labour has had a voice in shaping the government?

“It’s going to take a long time to unpick the Thatcherite settlement, so I’m realistic in that regard. But turning those themes of reindustralisation, addressing regional inequality, creating good jobs in all parts of the country, taking back control of those key parts of the economy – if we can be moving in that direction, backing Shabana on immigration, then I think we’ll be happy that we’re having a positive influence on the party, and I think it will lead to more electoral success if we did.”

Blue Labour’s proposition, in Hinder’s eyes, is therefore straightforward: a left-wing approach on economics, combined with a tougher approach to immigration and what he describes as  “common sense” politics on social issues could give Labour the route it needs to win back the working-class voters that feel abandoned by the party.

Whether Burnham opts to adopt that model, and whether it proves to be a pathway to success, is still yet to be seen.

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