Cooper backs PM over 'island of strangers' remark

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has defended the connection utilized by Sir Keir Starmer successful a code to unveil plans to chopped immigration.

The premier curate said connected Monday the UK risked becoming an "an land of strangers" without stricter controls.

The operation has led immoderate Labour MPs to impeach him of divisive connection - a assertion rejected by Cooper.

She added the PM had been seeking to item the interaction of rising migration successful caller years and "support for integration," including English connection tests.

She rejected a examination made by a tiny fig of Labour MPs, notably erstwhile shadiness chancellor John McDonnell, to the connection of Enoch Powell.

Cooper said she didn't cognize whether the PM oregon his code writers were alert of immoderate similarity to a enactment successful Enoch Powell's notorious Rivers of Blood speech successful 1968, successful which the Conservative MP described a aboriginal successful which Britons "found themselves made strangers successful their ain country" owed to immigration.

Speaking connected BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she added that Starmer's code was "completely different", adding: "I don't deliberation it's close to marque those comparisons".

"The premier minster said yesterday, I deliberation astir successful the aforesaid breath, talked astir the divers state that we are and that being portion of our strength...

"I cognize that everybody ever gets caught up successful focusing connected antithetic phrases and truthful on, but we bash person to beryllium talking astir the policies."

Asked connected BBC Breakfast whether she thought Starmer's connection was toxic, she replied: "I don't agree, no", adding the PM was "right to accidental we request to change".

Labour Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said helium understood the "context" successful which the authorities had announced its caller migration measures, but helium would not person utilized the operation "island of strangers" himself.

Speaking to LBC, helium added: "The benignant of connection I usage is antithetic to the connection utilized by others. That's not the benignant of words I would use".

Conservative shadiness justness caput Robert Jenrick echoed the premier minister's comments, adding Sir Keir's informing the UK could go an land of strangers was "already" existent successful parts of the country.

The examination to Powell was made by McDonnell, who lost the Labour whip past year aft rebelling connected a payment vote, erstwhile questioning Cooper successful the Commons connected Monday.

The Hayes and Harlington MP said: "When authorities of this quality is being introduced that is superior and could beryllium contentious, it's critically important that ministers usage cautious language.

"When the premier curate referred to... an land of strangers, reflecting the connection of Enoch Powell, does she realise however shockingly divisive that could be?"

In the aforesaid debate, Labour MP Nadia Whittome said immigrants were being "scapegoated for problems that they didn't cause" and that "the rhetoric surrounding this" risked stirring radical abuse.

The Nottingham East MP asked: "Why are we trying to ape Reform [UK], erstwhile that volition bash thing to amended our constituents' lives and conscionable stoke much division?"

The motorboat of the government's immigration measures connected Monday follows section elections successful England earlier this period that saw Labour suffer the Runcorn and Helsby spot to Nigel Farage's Reform UK successful an historically adjacent by-election.

Reform, which has campaigned heavy connected the contented of migration successful caller years, besides picked up its archetypal 2 metro mayors and present controls 10 region councils, challenging the dominance of some Labour and the Conservatives.

Also speaking connected the Today programme, Jenrick, who was migration curate from 2022-2023, said the nationalist was "sick of rhetoric, they privation action".

Jenrick claimed the Conservatives' nonaccomplishment to trim nett migration implicit 14 years successful powerfulness was due to the fact that of "catastrophic mistakes" and claimed Labour's plans were a "con by Keir Starmer to instrumentality the British nationalist into believing that he's going to instrumentality action".

He added Sir Keir's words "repudiated everything" helium had antecedently stood for, claiming the premier curate had stood for the Labour enactment successful 2020 connected a argumentation of "supporting wide migration".