The euro is heading for collapse, major banks were
downgraded overnight, the global economy is plunging into depression and Ed
Miliband chooses this very moment to play the reactionary race card.
Pandering to prejudice, the right-wing press and voters looking
for scapegoats for social problems is what Labour leader Miliband is doing
today, however much he dresses it up as a “policy rethink”.
In his Guardian interview,
Miliband claims that workers from countries like Poland have driven down wages while
denying British citizens jobs. Of course, he produces no evidence whatsoever to
substantiate this.
But Miliband is basing his new hard-line on the very same
“anecdotal evidence”, including the amazing statement that people “in every
kitchen” up and down the country are discussing what to do about
immigration.
And no doubt Miliband was inspired by recent findings from
the right-wing Policy Exchange think-tank that a harder line on immigration
would help Labour win back swing voters, as well as the views of Jon Cruddas,
his new policy adviser.
By referring to sectors of the economy “where there is a
problem”, Miliband immediately drags the issue of the numbers of migrant
workers into the limelight. But having raised the hopes of racists that the
numbers could be reduced somehow, Miliband only proposes that new vacancies
should be notified to Jobcentre Plus!
Saying he will review immigrants access to benefits – all
the statistics show EU workers claim less than the average UK citizen – and routes
to local social housing is something you would expect from the right of the
Tory Party. In his rush to reject New Labour’s relative open door policy,
Miliband has found himself in the company of UKIP and other nationalist outfits.
His late Marxist father Ralph (a refugee from Nazi
persecution) will no doubt be turning in his grave to hear son Ed argue that
immigration should be seen as a “class issue” because “evidence” showed
lower-paid workers and the unskilled suffer from cheap East European labour.
A genuine class-based approach would, however, be to insist
that there is a divide and rule strategy to hand and that workers have to find
ways to stick together against a common enemy or face joint immiseration.
Instead, Miliband said he was entering the debate on
immigration in the context of his call for a more “responsible capitalism”. He
wants the employers to pay better wages and treat everyone more fairly and end
the “nasty, brutish and short-term” nature of the labour market.
That’s really going to happen!
Corporate-driven globalisation, which the New Labour
governments endorsed 100%, benefited big business and the banks at the expense
of working conditions and wages. Now that the global economy is in its
worst-ever crisis, many people regard the system of capitalism as the problem
and not the solution.
At this point, Miliband steps in to deflect people’s attention
away from the incompetent ruling elites, the bloated bankers and the
corporations whose obsession with profit has produced a catastrophe.
The present Labour leader, like those before him, is just
what the system needs at this point. Instead of confronting those responsible
for low wages, unemployment, poor housing and run-down services, let’s just
fight amongst ourselves for the scraps. Miliband confirms that there is no
point in Labour, none whatsoever.
Paul Feldman
Communications editor
