Farage is ‘wrong’ to blame economic problems on immigration, Rachel Reeves says
Nigel Farage and the populist right are “wrong” to suggest that immigration has damaged Britain’s economy, Rachel Reeves has said, instead blaming austerity, Brexit and Liz Truss’ mini-budget.
The Chancellor appeared on a panel at the Global Progress Action summit in London yesterday, shortly after the Prime Minister had announced his digital ID plan at the same event, which he said would crack down on illegal migration.
Speaking about the rise of the populist right in the UK, Ms Reeves said there was a “compelling” but “not correct” argument that “the reason why living standards have been depressed, the reason why public services aren’t working well enough, is because of immigration”.
She instead blamed austerity, Brexit and the mini-budget, along with Covid and the war in Ukraine, rather than “foreign workers coming in and undercutting British workers”.
Ms Reeves said: “That makes economic policy, I think, as well, quite hard, because when I talk about some difficult decisions and the trade-offs, there are some people who will say, ‘well, you know, actually there’s some very simple things you could do, close the borders, don’t let people in, and therefore we have more money for the things we want’.”
She added: “That is obviously very simplistic and it’s wrong.”
It comes as a new mega-poll by YouGov suggested a Reform UK government would be a near-certainty if a general election was called today.
The pollster’s second MRP model since the 2024 election, which is based on responses from 13,000 voters, projects Reform UK would win 311 seats, just 15 short of a majority.
YouGov added its seat projections come with uncertainty intervals and outcome probability estimates which form a key part of its overall picture of the electoral landscape.
At the same summit that Ms Reeves spoke at, the Prime Minister laid out his election pitch to voters saying that Britain faces a “battle for the soul” of the country.
In a rallying cry to progressives, the Prime Minister said centre-left leaders must stop the “politics of predatory grievance” from “preying on the problems of working people”.
Speaking alongside counterparts from Canada, Iceland and Australia at the Global Progress Action summit on Friday, Sir Keir criticised the “poisonous belief” that a “violent struggle” for the nation is coming.
He again condemned scenes earlier this month at the Unite the Kingdom rally organised by far-right agitator Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley Lennon, which Sir Keir said sent “shivers” through many communities.
He said the era of two-party politics dominated by Labour and the Tories is changing, with the ruling party now up against “a very different” challenge from Reform.
“The UK (is) now at a crossroads, we have got a right-wing proposition that we’ve not had in this country before,” he said.
Setting the tone for Labour’s annual conference this weekend, he said the next election would be an “open fight” between the ruling party and Reform – an argument he will expand on in his leaders’ speech in Liverpool.
“That march that we had here two weeks ago in London, in Whitehall – that sent shivers through the spines of many of our communities well away from London, not just those in the immediate vicinity,” he said.
“So there’s a battle for the soul of this country now as to what sort of country do we want to be.
“Because that toxic divide, that decline with Reform is built on a sense of grievance, grievance politics, identifying something real for sure, but relying on the problem existing in order for their politics to persist.”
During the speech, Sir Keir unveiled his plan to require a digital ID to work in the UK, which he says will crack down on the pull factors for illegal migrants.
This will be compulsory for anyone who wants to work in the UK, Sir Keir said, and pledged it would be introduced ahead of the next Parliament.
People will not be required to carry the ID, which will be held on smartphones, or asked to produce it.
Sir Keir has called the plans an “enormous opportunity” that will make it tougher for people to work illegally.
“Let me spell that out,” the Prime Minister warned, “you will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have a digital ID. It’s as simple as that.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders have been pushing the UK to remove the “pull factors” for small boat crossings, and have cited a lack of ID cards in Britain as a key issue.
However, it has already faced opposition from the left and right wings of politics, with Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage united in their condemnation.