[Boiler]

There was a good program a few years ago about a farmer recruiting local unemployed people for potato picking. Some of them were walking adverts for the old Miliband-Reeves compulsory jobs policy. Some others tried, but were too slow for the farmer to be able to pay them the (then much lower) minimum wage. I think there was only one bloke who was fast enough.

I heard a similar thing about soft fruit picking - in fact, it may have even been on Farming Today.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Here's an interesting counterpoint to what's happened this week.

https://www.politicshome.com/news/artic ... -pay-54506

Jeremy Corbyn has said Brexit will put a stop to firms “importing cheap labour” to undercut the wages of UK workers.

The Labour leader said the Government “cannot be held back” by EU membership from challenging the rules of the free market.

But his remarks drew criticism from SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who accused him of appropriating the language of former Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

Much as I'd like to shit on Corbyn though, I think that would be unfair. This is what he said.

We cannot be held back inside or outside the EU from taking the steps we need to develop and invest in cutting edge industries and local business stop the tide of privatisation and outsourcing, or from preventing employers being able to import cheap agency labour to undercut existing pay and conditions in the name of free market orthodoxy."

He's talking spefically about posted workers, where there had been some unhelpful ECJ rulings. You can query his vision of Britain opting out of rules and subsidizing its goods into the Single Market like that, but he's talking about something specifically here where he definitely has a point.

Can Starmer's remarks not be analyzed in the same spirit?

[Abernathy]

It might be worth pointing out that the proposals are, at this stage, only in the form of a white paper - a policy document setting out proposals for future legislation, and not a legislative bill going before parliament , so plenty of room for discussion and consultation before it does.

The actual proposals within the white paper are not in themselves especially draconian or controversial.
Read it here : https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... aper.pdf.

The problem is entirely the ill-thought-out rhetoric that Starmer chose to use to introduce the paper.
I find it hard to credit that Starmer's team could not have foreseen the reaction that the rhetoric would elicit : the easy comparisons with Powell's infamous "Rivers of blood" speech, the easily misinterpreted assertion that inadequate immigration control has been "damaging" (interpreted as immigration in itself being damaging), the UKIP/Brexit/Reform - friendly language.

Surely there are questions being asked about this shambles ?

[Crabcakes]

I find it hard to credit that Starmer's team could not have foreseen the reaction that the rhetoric would elicit

*Exactly* this. Is it a bit shit that the speech has been misinterpreted/misrepresented/misquoted? Sure. 100% agree.

But, is it utterly fucking bewildering that a Labour leader, coming off the back off a Reform-heavy election laden with protest votes and anger at recent policy (or perception of policy) then goes out and makes a speech that can be very, very easily misquoted in this way - and further, that *no one* on his team seems to have gone “hey, maybe this is a bit of an issue” before he gave it? Also yes.

Comms needs sorting, and soon. It’s not terminal yet, but if this sort of shitshow isn’t dealt with before the narrative is unshakeable then Ed Davey will rightly be popping round to ask about where he can have his Deputy PM office before long.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The targeting of the Tories is actually bizarre too. Some fair points were made about the Tory period 2021-3- I was surprised that as much as half of the immigration wasn't Hong Kong and Ukraine, but purely a result of regular visa changes. But it's one thing to say "they were idiots", we're doing it better. Farage's reaction is presumably "Yeah, we know they're idiots, thanks for helping us replace them".