Democracy, immigration and the liberal-left
This article was originally published on LabourList on 24th October 2010. Immigration is a touchy subject in Britain, and especially on the liberal-left. Ed Miliband admitted in his recent [2010] conference speech that it had been an important issue in the general election – and we only have to remember Gillian Duffy to see how Labour had lost touch with ordinary folk. Nevertheless many people on the liberal-left remain in denial about it, struggling to reconcile strong internationalist and anti-racist instincts with the increased levels of migration that have come with globalisation and global population growth. The liberal-left and Britain as a whole has much to be proud of for its record of accepting and integrating refugees and immigrants, albeit with a few bumps along the road. But it is now time for the language to change to one in which, as Ed’s brother David said during Labour’s leadership hustings, immigration as an issue is decoupled from race. It is time to ...