The SNP has accused Labour of stoking an increasingly hard right approach to immigration as the UK government signals new measures targeting asylum seekers, refugees and long settled migrants.
Pete Wishart, the SNP’s Depute Leader at Westminster, said the country is living through a cost of living crisis created by political decisions in London, yet Labour is choosing to fight internal battles and echo the language of Nigel Farage rather than address the pressures facing households.
He said families are struggling to pay for food, energy and basic essentials because of the fallout of austerity, stagnant wages, Brexit and soaring bills, and that none of that will be fixed by tightening immigration rules.
Wishart argued that the climate around immigration has already become dangerous, with restrictions preventing healthcare workers from bringing family members to the UK and public calls from commentators to deport NHS staff who have served on the frontline.
He warned that Labour’s new position risks making that environment even more hostile.
He said the idea of removing people who have lived in the UK for as long as two decades is both destabilising and morally wrong.
“It is outrageous that Labour is considering kicking people out who have been in the country for up to 20 years,” he said.
“That would mean families torn apart, communities destabilised, and people denied the chance to contribute, and Labour cannot even offer reassurance to Ukrainians who have become part of every community across the country.”
Wishart said the UK is facing pressures that demand focus not division.
“A Labour government should be focussed on helping people with rising costs and investing properly in public services,” he said.
“Dancing to Nigel Farage’s tune on immigration will not cut bills.”
He said the public has every right to feel let down when politicians appear more concerned about headlines than the conditions people are living through.
“Prices are soaring, wages are stagnating and households are at breaking point, but Labour’s primary focus is on fighting each other and pandering to Nigel Farage.”
Wishart argued that the real problem is not the presence of asylum seekers, refugees or migrants but the failure of Westminster to create a fair and functioning system.
He said the UK has allowed inequality to deepen and has built an immigration framework that creates fear instead of stability.
“The fundamental problem is not asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants,” he said.
“It is the mess Westminster has made of immigration policy and the massive inequality that exists in the UK.”
He warned that the political landscape is shifting sharply and that the rise of Nigel Farage poses a real threat to the values held by many in Scotland.
“The Westminster system is broken in so many ways, and with the rise of Nigel Farage and his toxic agenda, things are only going to get worse,” he said.
Wishart said Scotland needs the power to set its own course and build policies that reflect its values rather than those shaped by the battles of Westminster.
“We need policies that work for Scotland, not a Westminster system that treats Scotland, our values and our priorities, as an afterthought,” he said.
“We are better off with Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands, and that means independence, and the opportunity to give our country the fresh start it needs.”
