Britain rejects ‘racist thugs’, says Starmer, pledging to restore ‘control’

In his first speech as prime minister to the Labour Party conference, Sir Keir condemned the “violent brutality” seen on Britain’s streets over the summer and said: “The country sees you and rejects you.”

He said he would “never accept the argument … that millions of people worried about immigration are one and the same as the people who smashed up shops, attacked mosques, tried to burn down refugees, daubed walls with racist graffiti, gave Nazi salutes at the Cenotaph, attacked NHS nurses and told people of colour, people who contribute here, people who grew up here, to ‘go home’.”

“No, the people who are concerned about immigration have not done that because they know that this country, this democratic country, is built on the rule of law, the ballot box and the common understanding that we will work out our differences.”

Amid loud applause from the audience in the conference hall in Liverpool, the Prime Minister promised: “I will never allow a minority of violent, racist thugs to terrorise our communities.”

He further stressed that the immigration debate is about “control” and not about “the value of migrants”.

He accused the Conservatives of ignoring people’s desire for control after Brexit and creating an immigration system that was “deliberately reformed to reduce control”. He said a “more decisive government” was needed to deal with the “big forces” impacting on communities.

The Prime Minister further said that his government would work to reduce net immigration and promised to improve the skills of young Britons to reduce dependence on foreign labour.

He said: “I have never believed that we should be relaxed about some sectors importing labour when there are millions of young, ambitious and highly talented people desperate to work and contribute to their communities.”

“Believe me, there are numerous examples of the number of apprenticeships decreasing while at the same time the number of visa applications for the same qualifications is increasing. That is why we will take tough action against this.”

Government policy is for the Migration Advisory Council to proactively highlight key sectors where labour market failures have led to a rapid increase in the recruitment of workers from abroad. Employers who violate labour laws will be prohibited from recruiting workers from abroad.