Bill Rammell says the Labour Government needs a narrative and constant explanation to communicate its missions
Bill Rammell, a former Labour MP for Harlow, considers how Labour should quell the disquiet in society
The vast majority of people in Britain, including our new Labour Government, are concerned that net migration to our country is far too high, and support people being able to say so.
We all also strongly believe that working class people need a better deal and more opportunity and that too many communities have been left behind.
The vast majority also believe that throwing bricks at the police, firebombing hotels and storming hotels is emphatically unacceptable.
This is a starting point for any discussion of how we quell disquiet in society.
More than that, our Labour Government needs to communicate it gets people’s concerns, which it does.
The need to reduce immigration, rebuild our communities and tackle poverty are at the core of the missions of this Labour Government.
Labour needs a narrative and constant explanation to communicate this.
And there are huge amounts to do. The Tory Government let immigration rip. Real incomes scarcely grew. Public services were savaged by cuts.
We had the highest tax burden since the 1940s. And our communities, particularly the poorest, were left crumbling. Too many people were literally left behind.
As I write, we are just 37 days into this Labour Government. A point worth making given how critics on the right are now attacking Labour. Solving these huge problems will take time. But we need urgency in tackling them.
Labour is already working to reduce immigration with a huge increase in staff processing claims, which will end the use of hotels for asylum seekers. And Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has rightly challenged the migration advisory committee to review sectors over-reliant on foreign labour. These measures and others will reduce net migration dramatically this year.
Labour’s housebuilding revolution needs turbocharging to deliver homes people desperately need. A big proportion of this should be council housing.
Labour’s workers’ rights agenda, which is already being legislated for, needs to be shouted from the rooftops. Along with Labour’s review of the minimum wage to take account of affordability-making the minimum wage a living wage. And as we get the economy growing, we have to invest more in local community services and facilities which are crumbling.
All of this needs clear articulation and repetition. So that people recognise their voice is being heard and change is happening.
But our Government also needs to rebut the lies and myths circulated by the far-right organisers of the recent riots. Who falsely claim that we have two-tier policing, where right-wing protestors are treated more harshly than those on the left.
Well, the recent sentences for the riots were less than for the Just Stop Oil protestors.
Hardly biased against the right.
And these far-right organisers also falsely claim that white protestors are treated more harshly than black protestors. Yet, in Britain, a black person is 2.5 times more likely to be arrested than a white person. And 3.5 times more likely to be a victim of police violence.
Hardly evidence of two-tier policing biased against white people.
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And we desperately need context in our discussions about law and order.
Some argue right-wing protestors have been brought to court within days, whilst the violent attacks against police at Manchester Airport are still pending.
The difference is context - right-wing rioters pleaded guilty, whilst the assailants on the police have not.
So, we need to rebut the lies and myths - otherwise public confidence is sapped and trust is impacted.
And we need to make clear that our Labour Government was absolutely right to tackle the far-right organised riots.
These have been the biggest instances of mob rule on our streets in my lifetime. Without tackling them, none of us are safe.
But Labour is resolutely committed to tackling the burning injustices many feel after 14 years of reckless Tory Government. And we will deliver on that.
