Opposition leader lays out position on freedom of movement and immigration in major speech on Brexit
Ahead of a major speech on Brexit given yesterday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told the BBC that his aim is to stop the exploitation of immigrant workers by employers rather than directly limit numbers.
Corbyn said that freedom of movement was being exploited by unscrupulous employers.
In his speech, Corbyn said: "Labour is not wedded to freedom of movement for EU citizens as a point of principle, but I don't want that to be misinterpreted, nor do we rule it out."
The leader of the opposition added that his party supports "fair rules and the reasonable management of migration," but would not "offer false promises on immigration targets or sow division by scapegoating migrants."
The Independent reported that the Green Party accused Labour of "capitulating" on immigration after Corbyn said he would accept the end of European freedom of movement, while BBC News reported that a Conservative spokesman said it was clear Corbyn would not impose any controls on immigration.
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said Corbyn was "still no clearer" on immigration.
You can read Corbyn's full speech here and the section dealing most directly with immigration is excerpted below:
"During the referendum campaign, many people expressed deep concerns about unregulated migration from the EU.
In many sectors of the economy, from IT to health and social care, migrant workers make an important contribution to our common prosperity, and in many parts of the country public services depend on migrant labour.
This government has been saying it will reduce migration to the tens of thousands. Theresa May as Home Secretary set an arbitrary political target knowing full well it would not be met.
They inflamed the issue of immigration. They put immense strain on public services with six years of extreme cuts and then blamed migrants for the pressure caused by Tory austerity.
And last week a government minister who voted "Leave" told an employers' conference, "don't worry, we'll still let you bring in cheap EU labour".
Unlike the Tories, Labour will not offer false promises on immigration targets or sow division by scapegoating migrants because we know where that leads. The worrying rise in race hate crime and division we have seen in recent months and how the issue of immigration can be used as a proxy to abuse or intimidate minority communities.
Labour is not wedded to freedom of movement for EU citizens as a point of principle, but I don't want that to be misinterpreted, nor do we rule it out.
When it comes to border controls, we are proud to say we will meet our international obligations to refugees fleeing wars and persecution.
To those EU citizens who are already here, we will guarantee your rights.
And we continue to welcome international students who come to study in this country.
We cannot afford to lose full access to the European markets on which so many British businesses and jobs depend.
Changes to the way migration rules operate from the EU will be part of the negotiations.
Labour supports fair rules and the reasonable management of migration as part of the post-Brexit relationship with the EU, while putting jobs and living standards first in the negotiations.
At the same time, taking action against undercutting of pay and conditions, closing down cheap labour loopholes, banning exclusive advertising of jobs abroad and strengthening workplace protections would have the effect of reducing numbers of EU migrant workers in the most deregulated sectors, regardless of the final Brexit deal.
Of course migration has put a strain on public services in some areas that's why Labour would restore the migrant impact fund that the Tories scrapped.
Sarah Champion is leading for Labour on our policies to ensure better integration and more community cohesion and part of that again will be about restoring funding for English language lessons.
Let's not forget it was this Tory government that slashed funding for learning English as a second language. As we've seen with the Prime Minister talking about the need to strengthen mental health care, while cutting funding by eight per cent it seems the government's second language is hypocrisy.
It is the ripping up of workplace protections and trade union rights that has allowed unscrupulous employers to exploit both migrant and British labour, and help to keep pay low, and drive down conditions for everyone.
But let's be clear, public services are not under pressure primarily because of immigration – especially since many migrant workers keep those public services going.
They are under pressure because this Tory government has cut them to fund tax break after tax break to the super rich and big business.
That is the Tory game – low taxes for the rich, low pay for the rest, underfund public services, and find someone to blame , It's brutal and it's not working.
Labour will break with this failed model and offer solutions to problems, not someone to blame.
Labour will demand that the Brexit negotiations give us the power to intervene decisively to prevent workers, from here or abroad, being used and exploited to undermine pay and conditions at work.
We need a drive to provide British people with the skills necessary to take up the new jobs which a Labour government and the new economy will generate. I've already set out at the CBI and TUC conferences that this means asking companies to pay a bit more in tax to fund more and better access to education and skills training, and government contractors always providing decent skilled apprenticeships.
We will end the race to the bottom in pay, working conditions and job insecurity, setting up a new Ministry of Labour to get a grip on the anything goes jobs market free-for-all."