Empty Rhetoric

Newspapers, having clearly been briefed, are reporting that today Ed Milliband will give a speech about immigration in attempt to reposition Labour being on the side of working class voters' concerns.

Apparently:

“They are worried about the future. They want there to be good jobs, they want their communities to grow strong once again. And they worry about immigration,” he will say

“Worrying about immigration, talking about immigration, thinking about immigration, does not make them bigots. Not in any way. They are anxious about the future.”

In a move that makes the phrase 'stable doors and horses' seem inadequate, Ed Miliband will admit Labour's past mistakes on the issue. The crucial question though is what does he and Labour intend to do about it?

Well the short answer is nothing, and nor can he while we remain EU members. Thus we get feeble measures such as; 'restrictions' on countries joining under a new treaty (which can only apply for a maximum of 7 years), better enforcement of minimum wage and new measures to force medium and large employers to declare if they employ more than 25% of foreign workers.

So meaninglessness drivel that doesn't address the core problem. If we didn't know better we could have mistaken it for a Tory speech...oh wait, they have.

Meanwhile as they flap about delivering nothing, history is in the making on the European continent - rather soon, as Richard North highlights Britain's relationship with the EU is going to change significantly, and that change is likely to be defined by them not by us. And what do we hear from Labour and the Tories? Silence.