Campaign news

That Mug

29th March 2015

We condemn the Labour Party for releasing the “Controls on Immigration” mug. By doing it, they have undermined campaigns that are currently taken place around the UK in the run up to the General Election. They run the risk of deflating activists who are working so hard to return the Labour Party to government. And, most importantly, they stigmatise thousands of people who have come to the UK over the generations and now call it their home.It is true that our public services are over-stretched and jobs are at a premium, but that’s the result of successive governments failing in their duty to provide for the country’s population; not the fault of migrants. So, instead of taking the easy route and playing the blame game, we need commitments from the Labour Party to fund public services, and create employment opportunities, that will meet the needs of our country’s wonderfully diverse and growing population, now and for future generations.If the leadership can’t say anything positive about the benefits of migration and can’t dispel the lies that other political parties and the media perpetuate, then they should say nothing at all. You can’t out-UKIP UKIP, and hyping up the anti-immigration rhetoric plays straight into Nigel Farage’s hands. We urge all those within the labour movement to disassociate themselves from the message this mug sends out. As Diane Abbott MP said “This shameful mug is an embarrassment. But real problem is that immigration controls are one of our 5 pledges at all “