LEFT-WING Labour MPs have attacked Sir Keir Starmer for warning Britain would become “an island of strangers”;; due to mass migration.
The PM today faced down a growing backbench revolt over his measures to curb arrivals by 100,000 each year.
He doubled down as a poll is the most pressing concern for voters – even more than the economy.
And both Tories and criticised Sir Keir for not going far enough nor appreciating that the country has already been changed irrevocably by .
It came as more small boat migrants were seen being taken ashore by Border Force – with the number of Channel crossings passing 12,000 for the year.
The PM’s remarks yesterday that risked the UK becoming “an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together”;;.
It was met with fury from some Labour MPs, with Abtisam Mohamed blasting: “Sheffield Central is not ‘an island of strangers.’
“We are a mosaic of neighbours, friends and families from across the world. We all cooperate and contribute to our community.”;;
Fellow MP Nadia Whittome piled in: “To suggest that Britain risks becoming ‘an island of strangers’ because of the scaremongering of the far-right.”;;
Some even compared his language to that of Enoch Powell, whose Rivers of Blood speech warned people would find themselves “strangers in their own country”;;.
Downing Street today categorically denied Sir Keir was making a reference to the infamous 1968 speech, but stood by the remarks.
Staring down squeamish Labour MPs, the PM’s spokesman said: “The Prime Minister has made his arguments, which he obviously stands behind.
“The public rightly expect the back to the immigration system, something that was lost under the previous government.”;;
Tory Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said Britain was “already an island of strangers”;; and that yesterday’s crackdown was too timid.
The former Immigration Minister told Times Radio: “I think it’s true. In fact, I think in some places we already are. Aggressive levels of mass migration have made us more divided.”;;
A YouGov poll today found that the public view immigration as their number one issue – rising to the highest level since the 2016 Brexit vote.
It has overtaken the economy as the most pressing concern, and is well ahead of the NHS and crime.
