Nick Beales

If Labour’s values are plunging racialised kids into poverty, fermenting social discord, emboldening racists, exposing migrants to huge risks of exploitation and ensuring they cannot possibly hope to establish themselves in the UK, then Shabana Mahmood is being absolutely honest here👇👇

This is what I’ve thought will happen from the outset and I reckon Thursday’s result makes more likely.

8/ This is the basic problem with the UK immigration debate.
Treating people who are here badly is not the same as stopping people coming.
Either Labour don’t understand this or they’re unwilling to be honest with voters about this distinction.

7/ More importantly, if these plans do actually deter people and students, workers etc. stop coming, will that be considered a success?
If so, I come back to my original point that they could easily have achieved this outcome by just cancelling all existing visa routes anyway.

6/ I really struggle to understand Labour’s strategy here.
Whilst no evidence exists that their plans will deter migrants from seeking a better life, even if they did see 10% of people stop coming, do they think this will impress Reform voters?

5/ Because of this, we get what we have now.
A government that won’t stop immigration that we need as it tanks the economy.
But a government that simultaneously wants voters to think they’re doing something, anything to stop immigration.

4/ The truth is the UK needs the vast majority if not all of migrants who arrive through visa routes.
Without them the economy collapses. That’s why the visa routes were created.
Labour know this.
The Tories know this.
Reform probably know this.
But none of these parties will be honest with voters.

3/ Treating foreign students, workers, those with UK family etc. badly once they arrive is not the same thing though.
And I’m certain most voters who want to reduce immigration don’t want to hear that migrants now have to wait longer to get ILR. They want to hear that migration numbers have dropped.

2/ This has consequences:
- if foreign students stop coming, our unis go bust
- if overseas care workers stop coming, maybe we won’t have enough people to care for our ageing population

But if you think reducing immigration numbers is all that matters, perhaps those are worthwhile trade offs.

1/ This quote sums up how out of touch and clueless Labour and the political establishment are when it comes to immigration and understanding voters.
If you want to cut immigration, it’s not difficult. You just stop issuing visas.

Back my asylum overhaul or risk Trump inspired ICE-style raids, warns Mahmood The home secretary invokes the spectre of a US inspired "far-right" immigration crackdown as she tries to win Labour support for tougher asylum laws.

I’m sure Labour polling says voters want to reduce immigration numbers.
But I would love to see polling that says voters want us to treat migrants like shit once they get here.
These are not the same things and I’m certain both Labour and the Tories just don’t get this.
news.sky.com/story/back-m...

If a left wing platform overwhelmingly won over voters I still don’t think Labour leadership would go for it as they actually just don’t support redistributing wealth, treating migrants and minorities with dignity and tackling vested interests.

If you’re blaming that many different things for an election defeat, it’s pretty much admitting that you got your arse well and truly handed to you.

Yes it is.
Labour have made clear they judge a persons worth by the size of their salary.
Sure this policy punishes migrants, but make no mistake, if you earn less then this government thinks you’re less worthy and deserving.

They hate her because she represents everything that they lie about caring about whilst BadLoss represents everything (racism aside) they claim to hate.

A party that is resolutely anti-bourgeois while being staffed and supported by the bourgeoisie is an intriguing and inevitably impossible strategy.

Anyway good luck attracting those Reform voters who hate you.

Labour is introducing the most punitive immigration regime in Europe. That’s not my view, that’s how they’ve sold it and boasted about it. That is extreme.
Hannah Spencer is a hard-working plumber with a progressive agenda and a positive demeanour. That is not extreme.

Shabana Mahmood vows to stick with hardline migration policies after byelection defeat Home secretary will defy ‘plain wrong’ calls from unions and leftwing MPs that she is alienating Muslim voters

Maybe she’s a Green Party mole who’s infiltrated Labour?
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

A Labour leadership with both says "you must listen to these voters who don't share your values and take them seriously" and "you must NOT listen to *these* votes who *do* share your values - their preferred party should be dismissed as extremist" is headed for electoral disaster, and deservedly so.

Don’t let Rupert Lowe see this

Apart from the hypocrisy of Starmer accusing the greens of division after his Enoch Powell fanboy act, there’s not a shred of acknowledgment that he’s chosen to burn bridges with left wing voters by chasing mythical Reform voters who both want more racism but are put off by Farage’s brand of racism.

It’s no secret that @labourlewis.bsky.social is far and away 1 of Labour’s best and most principled MPs, but he just nails it here.
Sidelining people like him in favour of ghouls like Mandelson and McSweeney is why Labour are currently hated on the left as well as the right.

Labour have alienated the voters they had on the left, and failed to win over any of the voters they have courted on the right. Now their core appeal is all but gone and ever growing numbers of voters have exit options on the left, right and in the centre.

Welcome to the Valley of Electoral Death.

This is such great news.
Immigration casework and advocacy at its finest. 💪 💪

🟢🟢🟢
1/ The result from Gorton & Denton sends a clear message: voters don't want their leaders to scapegoat & demonise migrants. They want them to focus on real problems that effect their day-to-day lives.
We hope this government listens.
If they are, we have some suggestions 💡

The greens want to fix public services, end a genocide and tax millionaires more.
Reform want to set up ICE-style deportation programs.
Starmer comparing them as equally ‘extreme’ encapsulates everything wrong with him and his pitiful excuse of a government.

Labour’s inability to read the room or self-reflect is astonishing.
Maybe people don’t want Polanski or Farage as PM, but they sure as hell don’t want Starmer and his do nothing, change nothing, satisfy no-one agenda.

Completely agree.
I suspect even if Labour wanted to change course on these nasty proposals, they’re probably in too deep to abandon them.
I do though think there’s now a stronger possibility of them making greater concessions, with the most obvious being not applying changes to people already here.

I hadn’t seen this before, but it is so hopeful & positive compared to Labour’s social media comms.
She’s smiling, she’s not dealing in grievances & she’s punching up with who she blames for our problems, not punching down.
People respond to this positivity better than hate-filled negativity.