'We're no island of strangers' says Lucy Powell in plea to Labour faithful
Labour must reject argument immigration causes all UK's problems and bring nation together, deputy leadership contender Lucy Powell told a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference
Labour must reject the argument immigration causes all Britain’s problems and instead bring the nation back together, Lucy Powell has claimed.
The deputy leader candidate urged Labour to “seize back that political megaphone from those who want to divide our country ”, adding the responsibility was even greater while in government.
She was speaking during a screening of a the Mirror's brand new YouTube series Island of Strangers, where Real Britain's Ros Wynne Jones asks how communities cross difficult divides. The title is a reference to wording used by the PM during a speech on immigration, something he now claims to regret.
Speaking during the event at Labour conference in Liverpool, Ms Powell said: “We’re not on an island of strangers, are we? We’ve got to be really strong as a party and a movement about that, because it does fall to the Labour party, and I don’t want to make this party political, but in these times of division and hatred, it is the Labour party that has historically always stood up to division and hate, and been the force in this country to bring people together.
"We should absolutely be occupying that ground today, in a way that we’ve not done before. We’ve got an even bigger responsibility on our shoulders right now, because we’re also the party of government.
“[Labour must] reject the idea that all the ills of this country and all the problems that people face in our communities are caused by immigration. They are not. We must absolutely reject that, they are caused by lots of other factors, particularly a country that doesn’t work for ordinary people. "We’ve got to stand up to that, and show we’re the party that is going to fix the ills of this country, and bring people back together.”
The Island of Strangers series is on YouTube, with new episodes released every Friday.
Ms Powell's comments were echoed by the Mirror’s Real Britain columnist, Ms Wynne-Jones, who told the packed room she understood some people’s anger, but that it was misplaced.
She said: “People are right to be annoyed, but stopping the boats is not going to change a single thing about those people’s realities. In terms of material benefit to people, it will make no difference whatsoever, and nor will burning down every single asylum hotel in this country.
"We need to look at what real patriotism is in our country. We’re not an island of strangers, we are a nation of neighbours, and we want our country back.”