As Andy Burnham weighs his options ahead of a potential Labour leadership bid, a chorus of voices is urging him to seize the initiative by championing migrant rights. The Mayor of Greater Manchester has been handed a golden opportunity to reconnect with disillusioned Labour voters who feel betrayed by the party's drift towards hardline immigration policies.
Simon Steyne, a former senior adviser on fundamental rights at work for the International Labour Organization, believes that Burnham can tap into this reservoir of discontent by taking a strong stance in favour of migrants and reasserting Britain's international obligations. In a letter to The Guardian, Steyne lambasts the government's approach to immigration as "punitive" and argues that its increasingly stringent measures have merely reinforced public conviction that the system is unmanageable.
Steyne's critique centres on the government's failure to present counter-evidence to the notion that migration poses an 'existential threat' to Britain. He also faults much of the mainstream media for conflating various aspects of migration, such as asylum, undocumented entry, smuggling, and trafficking, often focusing on emotive issues like 'small boats' without adequate consideration for the lack of safe routes or the nuances of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
The argument is that while Labour supporters may be willing to compromise on economic or fiscal policies, many anti-racist progressives draw a "visceral, moral red line" at anti-migrant rhetoric and the 'intentional infliction of suffering' on those fleeing persecution. This sentiment is particularly strong in cosmopolitan areas like London boroughs with significant populations of migrant descendants and recent arrivals.
Burnham is encouraged to speak truthfully about the normality and benefits of migration, reminding the public of Britain's duties as a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. By doing so, Steyne believes Burnham can 'win back anti-racist former Labour supporters who reject xenophobic migration policies and the performative cruelty', which has included measures affecting asylum-seeking children and has been condemned by Labour peer Alf Dubs.
The implications of such a strategy for Labour's broader electoral prospects are significant. While the party has sought to present a more robust stance on border security in recent years, a pivot towards a more compassionate and rights-based approach to migration could help consolidate support among anti-racist progressives who feel abandoned by the party's current trajectory.