A quote from a speech given this past week:
But let us say this clearly.
This country could not survive without immigrants. It requires immigration. This continent requires immigration if we are to prosper. I ask you. In the 1960s who drove the buses that kept this city moving.Immigrants.
Who kept the factories running when there was labour shortages like my grandfather who worked in the Singer sowing machine factory in Clydebank?
It was immigrants.
Today when our loved ones need care be that in the NHS or our social care system who is there propping up our vital public services?
Immigrants.
When the crops need picking, the parcels need delivering, and the children need teaching who’s ready and willing to put in the hard graft?
Immigrants.
The truth is this country doesn’t just benefit from immigration, though it does.
It needs immigrants.
I’d love to be able to say that this powerful, full-throated defence of immigration and immigrants was made by a Lib Dem leader/MP/MSP etc. But it wasn’t. It was made by SNP MSP and former First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf.
And three cheers for him for what was an important, timely, and, in the current political climate, really rather brave contribution to a national conversation which often sees political leaders (current or former) on a race to the bottom of the barrel and grasping for increasingly insulting and dehumanising rhetoric which shames our nation.
When I saw the clip of Yousaf’s speech it got me thinking. When was the last time any prominent Liberal Democrat made a similarly clear, strong willed, and heartfelt defence of immigration? Anyone remember?
The nearest I could get to was a recent intervention in the House of Commons by our former leader Tim Farron.
He said,
Given that lengthy A&E, cancer treatment, and ambulance waiting times in Cumbria are a direct result of the lack of social care workers meaning our hospitals are full to bursting, what assessment has (the Minister) made of the damage this (government) policy (on restricting people from overseas working as carers) could do to patients and NHS workers in my communities, where the most regular experience we have with migrants is that they care for us and our loved ones.
Again I salute Tim for this contribution, which spoke to his, our party’s, and our country’s values.
But the fact that this took some searching to find, rather suggests that is the exception that proves the rule. Instead of running scared of the Tory shires or of Farage’s rabble we should be seeking to lead (and shift) public opinion on this and other issues.
We should be saying with all the spirit and strength that we can muster that immigration is not only a net benefit to our economy, which it is, but also greatly enhances our society, our diversity, and our culture. In fact it is our nation’s greatest strength.
I say that as a man born of the city of Leicester, our first minority majority city. Of course any country needs an immigration system but, again, we must be calling for it to be one which is fair, decent, and humane. But immigrants aren’t ‘illegals’ or ‘scrounges’ or any other such epithet. They are human beings with loves and fears and a soul, looking for a better life, and believe us to be a compassionate nation.
We are ‘Great’ Britain because the world comes here and helps make us great, from the Windrush generation and so many others before and since.
Let us live up to those great words in the pre-amble to our party’s constitution.
The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a free, fair, and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.
Let us shout from the rooftops: Immigrants are welcome!
Human Rights are every human’s rights
On Saturday I spent an interesting, informative, and enjoyable day at Amnesty International’s East Midlands Conference, held at the Multi Faith Centre in Derby. It was a timely reminder that, beyond the regular World trouble spots which dominate the media’s attention, there are countless human rights abuses taking place in all too many parts of the world.
As well as the plenary meetings, I attended sessions on:
- Hong Kong
- Climate issues of the Niger valley, and
- Israel & the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
I also took part in a photo action to highlight the case of Chow Hang-Tung, a human rights lawyer being wrongly held by the Chinese authorities.
I wasn’t at all surprised to find, in conversation, other Lib Dems in attendance at the event. Standing up for the human rights of all is core to us as a party and to our values. We must never relent from doing so.
Happy Pride!
I’d like to wish everyone a very happy Pride Month!
It’s right that we celebrate how far we’ve come on LGBT rights and equality and our own party’s often significant part in that progress. Pride is also, however, always a protest because there remains so much more still to do, especially on the rights of our Trans and non-binary friends.
Whilst our party can sometimes be a bit slow (such as the seemingly lengthy delay after the recent Supreme Court judgement to be clear that we will always stand with Trans people) I’m still so proud that we have the best record on LGBT+ rights of any GB-wide party.
As well often say, we will always be there for LGBT+ people. Always.
Happy Pride!
* Mathew Hulbert is a former Councillor, is a regular commentator on TV and Radio, and is Co-Host of the Political Frenemies podcast.
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15 Comments
“net benefit to our economy, which it is, but also greatly enhances our society, our diversity, and our culture. In fact it is our nation’s greatest strength”…
Over the last few years we’ve seen record inward immigration – this has coincided with a stagnant economy, cost of living crisis , I’ve had record council tax rise, record water rates rise, umpteenth rise in my energy bills, train fares inflation busting rise, bus fares up 50 per cent. Couple that with towns that have delapadated and overstretched services, housing waiting lists ballooning, private rents soaring , and Reeves is having to plug 15 billion pounds funding holes – voters are quite rightly asking what are those economic benefits of record immigration that we’ve been so often told about – they can’t see it , can’t feel it.
Labour is hemorrhaging support amongst those red wall seats . Many people in those towns have seen unprecedented changes in their communities in under such a short period of time. You only need to look at Sweden, the Social Demecrat poster boy to seen what rapid changes have lead to.
Most of our problems stem from austerity and Brexit. Both of which were voted for by the Tory voters who now make up the vast majority of the Reform vote. This super-served 30% or so of the population have had their own way for the last 15 years. They now blame immigrants for the deleterious effects of their own political choices.
Our leadership has to balance several conflicting goals:
– keeping on board our members and traditional Lib Dem voters. They almost certainly share the “pro-immigration” message the author wants to see promoted.
– attracting voters who are sceptical about immigration.
– managing the overall perception that most voters have about our party.
While pro-immigration messaging helps with the first goal above, it is probably negative for the second and third.
In my view it is essential for the future of our party to break away from the traditional image of Lib Dems as “sandle wearing softies.” As part of that, we need to focus on the issues that we have chosen, and not get distracted by others.
Let the other parties talk about immigration.
Mohammed Amin …..”Let the other parties talk about immigration.”
Groucho Marx.. “These are my principles. If you don’t like them I have others.”
I think Matthew, you’re correct about immigration being in principle a good thing – but it’s possible to have too much of a good thing! The UK population has massively increased over the last 20 years because of consistently high immigration levels, which has put an intolerable strain on our housing stock etc. That has all sorts of bad consequences including high house prices driving poverty. It’s simply not realistic for the party to talk about immigration without acknowledging that.
Humza Yousef can more easily do so because he’s presumably addressing a purely Scottish audience: Non-UK immigration is much lower in Scotland and therefore not such an issue there: Latest figures I can find (from 2017) are 15% of UK population being foreign-born but only 9% in Scotland. The SNP don’t need to bother with the concerns of English or Welsh voters – but we do! That likely explains the more reserved approach taken by the LibDem leadership.
probably too late for entering into discussion now but:
I strongly agree with Matthew.
however I have just spent time reading (instead of reading LDV!) contributions in the H of L from Lord German who spoke well in the Immigration Bill 2nd reading listing many of our existing Lib Dem policies, I have yet to list them all, but I will. Also fellow Peers Sal Brinton, Sarah Ludford and Sally Hamwee. They are to be commended and I will be very cross indeed if they do not make press releases from H of L and look forward with hope to similar from H of C.
Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill – Second Reading: 2 Jun 2025: House of Lords debates – TheyWorkForYou
Re Mohammed Amin – no it is not about who we can attract as voters, it is about standing up for what we believe in, and also what we have a raft of Lib Dem policies on. We have not negated these policies so they still stand, and should not be put out of sight.
The main reason we need immigration for the simple reason that we haven’t been producing enough children for several decades now. That’s the economic reality.
Lib Dems might want to reflect on some inconsistencies in various arguments which are put forward. Most will agree with Humza Yusaf
Sorry. That last post shot off on its own somehow!
.. Most will agree with Humza Yousaf that we need immigrants to drive buses, work in factories, run the NHS and delivery parcels etc but many will also argue that the robots are coming to take our jobs and so we need a Universal Basic Income.
What will happen if this argument turns out to be correct? Will immigrants no longer be welcome?
In other words, do Lib Dems believe in the free movement of labour or the free movement of people?
All well and good standing up for principles. If we want anyone else to take notice, we have to recognise the environment in which we live in. That’s one where the Right wing conflate immigation, refugee support, and people smuggling, with a backdrop of the imagery of “little boats”, such that too many consider immigration to be something that happens illegally and therefore should be stopped.
A liberal immigration policy is one based on clear rules, set via a process that achieves democratic consent, and that is applied consistently. Individuals should have the right to challenge any official decision to deny residence. However, if, after due process has been followed, an individual is found not to be entitled to residence and they overstay, then that individual should be removed from the country.
That liberal immigration policy will be somewhere on a spectrum between fully open and fully closed – the position on that spectrum should be decided democratically (i.e., openly, and subject to change). If such a policy was seen to exist, the Right would have less traction with their conflated claims.
The real irony with immigration is that some white working class people, who clamour to restrict immigration, then say, when offered jobs like fruit picking, cleaning and care work, Oh No, these are immigrants’ jobs. You couldn’t make it up.
@ Mick Taylor
“.. some white working class people…..when offered jobs like fruit picking, cleaning and care work, Oh No, these are immigrants’ jobs.”
I’d say the pay levels will be the real issue. I dare say some Lib Dem middle class people might say no, too!
I do live close to a nursing home and as far as I can make out the care staff are almost all of European origin. So I really don’t think there’s any real evidence that these “white working class people” are work shy.
However, just like middle class people they aren’t going to work for minimum wages if they can do better elsewhere. The problem with fruit picking, and other jobs in the horticultural sector, is that even minimum wage laws aren’t properly enforced. Pay slips might show 35 hours for the week but the number of actual hours workers are required to put in will be far more.
Immigrants will often put up with this kind of abuse whereas indigenous workers of all ethnicities, classes and political affiliations will be far less tolerant.
Legal migration is important for us although all parties need to tackle the problem of illegal migration. It is more relevant to look at the UK’s population as a whole and it is hitting nearly 70 million. Some families are having very large numbers of children which then leads to the need for more housing, schools and infrastructure and means our population levels are growing considerably so it is not the case that the birthrate is falling.
@ David,
“….. so it is not the case that the birthrate is falling.”
You’re quite wrong on this point, I’m afrraid!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnvj3j27nmro
The one point that almost everyone here seems to be missing is summed up in one simple question
“Can the UK sustainably support its current population, never mind a growing one in anything like a sustainable manner?”
And for those who, having thought about it, are still prepared to say yes, add the proviso – ” … in a manner that in the longer term is remotely acceptable to those future generations, as much as it may seem be acceptable to those in our generation promoting this vision now?
My view is that until we are prepared to face up to the very unpleasant consequences of world population growth and its impact on our only biome – planet earth, we will continue supporting mere dreams and visions instead of acknowledging and facing up to the real challenges that our planet will eventually force upon us.
“I’d say the pay levels will be the real issue.” Yes but not gross pay. The problem is the differential between taking work and not taking it. It sounds very reasonable to “Target benefits on those that need them most” but the result is that low paid and especially part-time or temporary work barely covers extra costs.