Another day, another crude and manufactured row aimed at denting the popularity of the Labour leadership, this time in Scotland. Jeremy Corbyn delivered a speech to the Scottish Labour Conference in which he went over familiar territory: Brexit must not mean dilution of workers’ rights, and the use by unscrupulous employers of importing labour to depress wages - gangmaster tactics - should not be tolerated.
Here’s 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 businesses 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”. His target was clearly the employers doing the importing of cheap labour.
And that might have been that, but for the headline given to its report by broadcaster STV, which told “Corbyn: Brexit can stop migrants being used to cut wages”. Migrants were cutting wages! Migrants were at fault! Boo! Rubbish dog-whistle politics! It’s UKIP all over again! That might sound a bit of a big ask, but the SNP were off like a shot after it.
Although STV also said “Immigrants being used to cut wages”, suggesting someone else may be doing the using, Stewart McDonald, MP for Glasgow South, had made his mind up: “A nasty anti-immigrant speech from Jeremy Corbyn during his visit to Scotland - and one that is based on the lie that foreigners are to blame for cheap Labour. Decent people in Scottish Labour need to call this out”. Just a little OTT, or what?
But that was only the beginning. Next came McDonald’s party leader Nicola Sturgeon to rub it in: “Labour spelling Keir Hardie’s name wrong was amusing. Hearing them echo Nigel Farage is profoundly depressing”. Is she trying to distract Scots from some kind of bad news? No matter, the SNP’s press pals were there in support.
“NICOLA Sturgeon has accused Labour of ‘echoing Nigel Farage’ after Jeremy Corbyn used his keynote speech at the Scottish branch office conference to complain about immigration … His comments drew criticism from across the political spectrum … Sturgeon was quick to hit out at the speech … Sounds like Jeremy is standing up for the many Ukip voters” told The National. Which is pro-SNP.
It was left to Glasgow North East MP Paul Sweeney to make the obvious point: “Corbyn was opposing the use of exploitative cross-border agency labour in industries like construction, which is gangmaster-sourced and not subject to trade union or UK employment contracts. It's not about opposing immigration to work on the same terms as other British citizens”. Some non-stories really are non-stories.
And while the Tories are usually masters of exploiting any sign of perceived weakness in their opponents, Corbyn’s position on gangmaster-like behaviour is so well known at Westminster that they would probably not have raised a peep about that speech. It’s doing no more than restating a position he’s carved out many times before.
Whether that means the SNP are better at picking holes in their opponents than the Tories, or just showing signs of desperation, is something I will leave to others to decide.
We can argue about whether Corbyn was dog-whisling about migrant workers ‘til The cows come home, BUT he was definitely re-repeating the discredited line that the EU prevents his industrial strategy.
ReplyDeleteDespite many in Labour repeatedly telling him that nationalised companies are allowed under EU rules.
Not quite.
DeletePublicly-owned companies exist in many EU countries.
Natonalisation, in the true sense, means much more than that. EU rules on competition, competitive tendering and state aid, prevent true nationalisation.
@Unknown 12:41
ReplyDeleteDo you mean this line from the speech:
"But if we are genuinely going to have a jobs first Brexit that deal must be compatible with our plans to bring the railways and postal service into full public ownership transform energy markets and end the privatisation of our public services."?
That does not read like a claim the EU prevents nationalised industries.
It's because Labour in Scotland are only targeting SNP held seats. And at the last general election Labour activists in Scotland actively canvassed on behalf of the Tories. Unionist parties also agreed not to compete against one another in marginals. And shared funding in some cases. Labour is a stinking rotten corpse in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteSadly Anon is precisely correct, the SNP and the Greens are now the flag bearers for Socialism in Scotland, the Labour party has descended into a tragic money and power grabbing husk, more interested in doing down their opposition than actually doing anything, and I speak as someone who always voted labour. Corrupt and unelectable, only the tories are worse in Scotland.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not often I disagree with your output Tim, however “The SNP’s press pals” is a corker. That would be the lone voice of The National up against The Daily Record, The Scottish Sun, The Herald, The Scotsman, the State Propaganda organ known as the BBC, Good Morning Scotland (also BBC) and Sunday Politics Scotland.
ReplyDeleteAll of whom have been overtly propagandising against the SNP and all have been proven to tell lies whilst attacking the only socialist party in Scotland, the SNP.
The one “press pal” clearly has to fight fire with a plastic water gun whenever it can.
Talking to many Scottish friends after last GE in June, I posed the question why did the Tories snatch so many SNP seats?
DeleteThe answer was quite a corker- Nicola's overwhelmingly obsession with Independence whilst Scotland's public services were falling apart, schools unable to afford to keep on teaching assistants and the NHS in Scotland like in England dealing with gaping holes in staffing levels.
Seems Nicola is just deflecting attention away from her one trick pony party inaqueacies.
Ksnt it the case the Stagecoach owners are big bakers of the SNP?
A keen reader of the above named propagandists I see.
DeleteYour reply to anonymous does not address the issue discussed. Rather, it is your reply which is a deflection.
DeleteYou've got this wrong, Tim.
ReplyDeleteYou know how many of these posted workers there are? 54,000, and 22,000 come from richer countries- so likely not on "Eastern European" wages. Plus there are 27,000 UK workers in the EU on this scheme- who'll now be vulnerable to lower wages if this scheme is abolished.
It's a dog whistle.