‘Labour has failed to communicate any message over anti-migrant protests’

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper have both spoken proudly about how much they love British flags, at a time when the St. George’s Cross is being used alongside racist vandalism in parts of the country.
• The News Agents say the government’s communications strategy has failed, and its ministers have no idea what they are supposed to be telling the media about its plans and its future.
• They say that Labour has been too focused on appealing to right-wing voters, and is not only losing ground to Reform UK, but is also opening doors for left-wing parties with a more clear-cut mission statement.

What’s the story?

Keir Starmer loves the England flag.

He loves it so much that he recently claimed to have one hanging in his home, and said he always sits in front of a Union Jack.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has also chimed in, revealing her home is draped in Union Jack and St George’s Cross bunting.

And all this would probably be fine, if the English flag wasn’t being politicised by groups of far-right groups protesting against asylum seekers and migrant hotels across the UK right now.

Men in masks have been seen storming shopping centres waving flags and chanting, with arrests made during weekend protests and racist graffiti seen in increasing frequency around the country.

Labour has been accused of supporting this concerning movement in the UK by seemingly offering nothing but supportive messages to those involved in anti-migrant protests.

“There's been no real pushback from the Labour Party,” says Emily Maitlis.

“They've been very technocratic about numbers, or about what they need to do, but you haven't heard anyone say, 'this is not who we are’.”

Starmer recently refused to condemn comments from Farage, when the Reform leader claimed asylum seekers in the UK were a “genuine threat to public order”.

“Over the summer there has been an absolute vacuum of communication about these issues, about where they see the threat, and what they see as the future of the Labour Party,” says Jon Sopel.

Has Labour missed every opportunity to hit back at Reform?

There has been widespread criticism of politicians, and the media, to hold Reform UK to account and offer comprehensive challenges to its policies, such as its blanket approach of ‘send them back’ to migrants entering the UK.

Labour’s silence on the tensions in the UK, inflamed by the hard-right, has also come under fire.

“There are many places where Labour could have really kicked back, and didn’t,” Emily says.

“Labour just has to say there were 200,000 migrants entering the UK a year before Brexit. That’s quadrupled in the last 10 years due to 'the Boris wave'. Boris Johnson sent immigration sky high.”

After Brexit, migrants were welcomed into the UK to do the jobs that British people refused to.

Farage, who led the campaign for the UK to leave the EU, is now gunning for it to pull out of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and even he won’t admit that Brexit was a success.

Emily believes that if he succeeds in forcing the UK to leave the ECHR, the next targets will be the Geneva Convention, and the right to remain.

“Don't they realise that Farage policies are not about creating a better Britain. They're about destruction,” Emily says.

“They're about pulling things down, because that is how you get into power.

“It's really easy to be in opposition. Everyone wants to be in opposition because you just get to destroy things, but don't then have to rebuild them.”

Why Labour’s communications strategy has failed

Earlier this week, junior education minister Stephen Morgan was quizzed on racist graffiti that has been seen in the UK following pro-England, anti-migrant protests, during an interview on Sky News.

He responded by saying was proud to be part of a “mission driven” government that was working to “drive growth”.

Emily says that Morgan's response highlights how difficult Labour MPs are finding sharing Labour's message, or lack of.

“There isn't a clear message from the top that has told the Labour story,” she says.

“If it was Blair, we know there'd be a story. We know that he would have found a way of explaining to everyone in the party that you can fight things that aren't fair and protect the values of the party you stand for.”

“Right now, according to the polls, there are more voters leaving Labour to join more progressive parties than there are to the right.”

She says this lack of a cohesive message, and clear interest in Labour voters to find a progressive alternative, presents a huge opportunity to the new, as-yet-unnamed Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana left-wing alliance.

Will Labour’s inaction cause a left wing resurgence?

In Labour’s attempts to calm the rise of the right in UK politics, it may have also made room for more progressive parties to stake a claim in the House of Commons.

“There is a conundrum for Labour at the moment, which is, is the reason it's haemorrhaging support because of the rise of Reform, or do you think the reason it's haemorrhaging support is because you've now got Zara Sultana and Corbyn setting up a party?” Jon asks.

“You've got a more active Green Party, you've got Sir Ed Davey joining in saying, 'I'm not going to a state dinner with Donald Trump'.

“There are three parties now positioning themselves as being to the left and a value driven alternative to a Labour government that has lost its way.”

The rise of these parties, Jon adds, should give Starmer a lot of "serious thinking" to do.

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.