Diane Abbott today labelled Sir Keir Starmer‘s speech about Britain becoming an ‘island of strangers’ as ‘fundamentally racist’.
Announcing his immigration white paper last month, the Prime Minister said his new strategy would ‘finally take back control of our borders and close the book on a squalid chapter’.
He added: ‘Without [rules], we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.’
The speech quickly caused uproar within the Labour left, with some likening it to Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech – claims which Sir Keir has since rejected.
The comparison was drawn due to the similarity of tone in Mr Powell’s speech in 1968, in which the former Tory MP said the white population could become ‘strangers in their own country’ due to future migration.
And Ms Abbott, who was the first-ever black female MP, continued to stoke the flames against the Prime Minister today when speaking at an anti-austerity march in London.
She said: ‘I was very disturbed to hear Keir Starmer on the subject of immigration.
‘He talked about closing the book on a squalid chapter for our politics – immigrants represent a squalid chapter.
Dianne Abbott (above) today labelled Sir Keir Starmer ‘s speech about Britain becoming an ‘island of strangers’ as ‘fundamentally racist’
Announcing his immigration white paper last month, the Prime Minister (above) said his new strategy would ‘finally take back control of our borders and close the book on a squalid chapter’
The speech quickly caused uproar within the Labour left, with some likening it to Enoch Powell’s (above) ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech – claims which Sir Keir has since rejected
‘He talked about how he thought immigration has done incalculable damage to this green and pleasant land, which, of course, is nonsense – immigrants built this land.
‘And finally, he said we risk becoming an island of strangers. I thought that was a fundamentally racist thing to say. It is contrary to Britain’s history.
‘My parents came to this country in the 50s. They were not strangers. They helped to build this country.’
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell joined Ms Abbott in the criticism of Sir Keir’s last month, saying his comments were ‘shockingly divisive’ and that it ‘reflected the language of Enoch Powell’.
Fellow left-winger Zarah Sultana, who like Mr McDonell also has the Labour whip suspended, said that the PM ‘imitating’ Mr Powell’s speech was ‘sickening’.
Labour MP Olivia Blake said: ‘Moves to cast migrants as strangers are divisive and hostile.’
A Government source said Sir Keir had not been aware of a similarity with Mr Powell’s speech, adding: ‘It was absolutely not a reference to Powell. The PM’s speech was about the need for integration.’
Ms Abbott led speeches today as demonstrators gathered to march against the Government’s spending cuts at an event organised by The People’s Assembly
Ms Abbott, who has served as an MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, took further aim at Sir Keir by saying he was imitating Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in a bid to improve his popularity.
She said: ‘I think Keir Starmer is quite wrong to say that the way that you beat Reform is to copy Reform.’
Ms Abbott led speeches today as demonstrators gathered to march against the Government’s spending cuts at an event organised by The People’s Assembly (TPA).
When promoting the march, TPA said ‘Keir Starmer’s government is making spending cuts that target the poorest, most vulnerable in society.’
The event featured representatives from the Green Party, the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, the National Education Union and the Revolutionary Communist Party.
