EDITORIAL
Labour's racist hypocrisy
Labour and Tory MP’s were falling over themselves to declare their anti-racist credentials on the publication of the report from the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
According to William Hague, the Conservatives have now become ‘uncompromising in our desire to see racism rooted out in society’ whilst Jack Straw has apparently been convinced about ‘what it is like to be black or Asian in Britain’.
It’s an outrage then, that none of this prevented either party from supporting the racist Asylum and Immigration Bill during its second reading.
At least under the Tory government there would be a handful of left MPs who consistently opposed any new racist legislation the government introduced.
Not one Labour MP voted against the Bill as it passed through the commons at the end of last month
Not one Labour MP voted against the Bill as it passed through the commons at the end of last month: in fact Jeremy Corbyn and Tony Benn were the only two Labour MPs even prepared to abstain.
The Asylum and Immigration Bill is a vicious attack on one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Those fleeing repression and persecution will find themselves even more isolated than ever, sent to all parts of the country regardless of what support structures may exist, forced to live a humiliating existence on meagre food vouchers, which is expected to be the equivalent of around £30 per week.
Britain’s racist institutions will be further buttressed with immigration officers being given police powers of search, entry into property and arrest.
There are a higher proportion of members of the NF and the BNP in the immigration service than in any other profession, and they are not even placed under the limited constraints that exist through the Police Complaints Authority.
Even marriage registrars will be given powers to question whether they consider a marriage to be "genuine" or not.
Wary that ‘bogus refugees’ may try to slip through the net to live a life of luxury on their £30 food vouchers, the government is proposing the establishment of a surveillance network that will link the computer systems of the Immigration Service, Registrars, the Benefits Agency and the Police.
Labour’s proposal to deal with the growing number of asylum seekers - locked up in prison for no crime other than to have sought refuge in racist Britain - is to build more prisons. They will also restrict the right of asylum seekers to appeal against Home Office decisions.
Just to make sure that this attractive prospect doesn’t leave Britain swamped with economic migrants, New Labour are also making a number of proposals to stop asylum seekers getting here in the first place.
These include new and increased penalties for those who transport people to Britain without documentation, increasing the number of airline liaison officers both here and abroad, and demanding cash down payments in return for visas.
Contrary to the claims of both Labour and the Tories, tough immigration controls are not part of a strategy to fighting racism in Britain, but a central feature of Britain’s institutional racism. Attacking the most vulnerable section of society will simply increase racism overall.
The last few weeks have shown a number of things about the struggle against racism. When the Tories introduced the migration and Asylum Bill two years ago, virtually every major trade union at least gave its paper support in opposing the bill.
Now, with a Labour government proposing legislation that is even worse, much of that support has dwindled away. The labour movement leadership as a whole is far less prepared to challenge Labour unless it feels under pressure from its rank and file to do something.
Secondly, whilst there is apparently a high tide of anti-racist consciousness, this has as yet been limited only to some aspects of racist Britain.
The anti racist movement must take the demands of refugees and asylum seekers as central demands of the movement as a whole.
The Bill is not likely to become law until next October. The only thing that may make Labour backtrack is if a mass movement demands that Labour drops this racist Bill, as well as campaigning for an end to all immigration controls.