Let's not pretend that people aren't worried about immigration

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/28/not-pretend-worried-immigration-ukip

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Britain's success is built on the ideas and ingenuity of those who have come here from abroad. From the Huguenots to the Irish dockworkers to the Windrush generation, immigration over the centuries has made modern Britain the country we love.

Each generation faced challenges over how to manage and control migration – to get the benefits, but cope with the pace of change, to make sure the system is fair and keeps public confidence. The biggest challenge has always been to avoid becoming divided and to remain an optimistic, outward-looking nation.

Right now, that is under threat. Public anxiety has grown steadily. Low-paid workers see deep injustice in the way employers exploit cheap migrant labour to undercut wages. Communities are worried about public services as budgets are cut. Yet hi-tech businesses and universities are troubled that we aren't getting the skills and investment we need. It's becoming the worst of all worlds.

A reactionary conservative approach to immigration – closing all the borders to keep the world at bay – can't work for our trading nation. But a laissez-faire free-market approach – opening all doors in the interests of cheap labour – won't work either. Both these rightwing approaches fail Britain.

That's why we need a progressive Labour response, and why Ed Miliband has been right to say we need to talk more about immigration as well as calling for reform.

For a start, that means an honest, measured debate. We will always reject the arms race of rhetoric. Not for us the "Go home" ads the government used last summer. We will challenge Nigel Farage on Ukip's divisive attempt to whip up hostility about the "Romanians who live next door" or people speaking foreign languages on trains.

But we won't pretend people aren't worried. Talking – rather than shouting – about immigration helps. I've heard from hundreds of people in packed public meetings and on doorsteps across Britain – immigrants and the children of immigrants, and those whose families have stayed put for centuries. There's more agreement than you'd think. Most people said they don't want to shut out investment, travel and trade. But they are worried about wages and communities. They believe immigration is important but it needs to be properly controlled.

Second, we need to tackle unfairness and exploitation by dodgy firms to undercut local wages. I've heard from Polish workers enduring appalling factory conditions. Or local workers forced on to zero-hours contracts, under threat of agencies bringing cheaper workers in from abroad. We need tougher laws, stronger enforcement, and to make serious exploitation a crime.

Third, we need smarter, stronger and more effective controls. Most people agree that there are different kinds of immigration. Yet the government's net migration target treats all migration as the same and is failing badly. We need stronger controls at the borders to tackle illegal immigration, with visas properly enforced, and reforms in Europe, including longer transitional arrangements for new EU countries. At the same time, we should encourage bright overseas students to come to our universities and talented entrepreneurs to build businesses here. And we need fair rules so it is clear people come to contribute, with a stronger requirement to learn English so we don't have divided communities.

But where does politics go from here? Ukip is preying on people's fears. We won't imitate it, we'll take it on – especially when it promotes hostility, division and isolation.

The Conservatives are still clinging to their failing target without realising that simply ramping up rhetoric undermines consent. And all the other parties are failing to take seriously employers using migrant workers to pursue a race to the bottom – their policies mean those on the lowest incomes and most worried about immigration are at risk of being left further behind.

When people are worried, and when the system is under strain, it is easy to seek cheap headlines or to exploit fears. And it can be simpler to try to pretend the problem will go away – even though that leaves a vacuum for extremists to exploit. Neither political approach is right. That's why the Labour party has to take the harder course – talking, listening, debating, putting forward sensible, fair reforms. Only that way can we win the argument and secure our future.