Ed Miliband: Labour was wrong on immigration

Ed Miliband will try to recast Labour’s approach to immigration tomorrow in a major speech admitting that the party “made mistakes” in the past.

The Labour leader will shift the focus from tougher border controls to looking at why employers choose foreign workers and the impact of large-scale immigration on the lives and jobs of families who already live here.

Mr Miliband will say Labour has failed in the past to address “legitimate concerns” about jobs and housing — an admission that meets concerns raised on the doorsteps by voters in East London at the last general election.

He will not copy Gordon Brown’s rhetoric of “British jobs for British workers” but is expected to focus strongly on the economic impact of overseas workers.

Mr Miliband will reject David Cameron’s promise of a cap on migrants, because it does not apply to European Union citizens. He will argue that border controls, although important, are not a complete solution.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper today introduced the shift in thinking by saying “tough talk” was not working. “This isn’t the easiest subject for the Labour Party,” she wrote in The Times.

“In government we didn’t do enough to address people’s concerns on immigration. By the election we had lost the argument — people felt that the system was unfair and politicians weren’t listening. We need to change.”

She said Labour needed to look at the “unequal consequences” of migration, including who benefits and who loses.

She went on: “For many people the biggest [consequence] is the impact on jobs, wages or housing, with low skilled workers facing the greatest pressure.”

Mr Miliband’s thinking has been influenced by Jon Cruddas, the Dagenham & Rainham MP recently put in charge of the policy review. Mr Cruddas is a critic of mass immigration for its role in depressing wages.

Margaret Hodge, the Barking MP, has warned that Labour lost the trust of working-class people on the issue. She made waves by calling for established families to take priority over migrants for social housing.

However, Lord Glasman, the north London peer who called for immigration to be temporarily halted last year, is said to have lost influence in Mr Miliband’s circle.