Britain’s top union boss has issued a warning to Keir Starmer and the entire left of politics that they need to reclaim the narrative on the immigration debate in the face of the threat from Nigel Farage and Reform.
Writing in The Independent, Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), appears to chide Sir Keir for his controversial speech on migration earlier this month, warning that the left “should not be echoing the right”.
In a week where the gloves have come off in the fight between Reform and Labour, Mr Nowak has urged the prime minister to confront the “dangerous and false” claims of Mr Farage.
But, crucially, with chancellor Rachel Reeves trying to squeeze public finances in her spending review set to be published on 11 June, the union boss demanded that she finds the cash to properly fund the Fair Pay Agreement in social care and the Fair Work Agency which he believes are at the heart of part of the problems with immigration.
His piece comes just days after Mr Farage gave a speech overtly targeting Labour and left-wing voters, claiming Reform is “the party of the workers”.
That speech was followed two days later by one from Sir Keir, accusing Reform of having economic plans which would cause “a Liz Truss-style economic meltdown”.
With battlelines drawn, Mr Nowak, whose unions are Labour’s biggest donors, has decided that the TUC needs to make its first intervention on the migration debate at the heart of Mr Farage’s message to working-class people.
In today’s piece, the TUC official pointedly refers to care workers three times, a category that the prime minister has banned from receiving work visas.
But he also noted that the left should “not compromise its values” and “should treat everyone with dignity”, saying the left “should not be echoing the right”.
It comes after the prime minister faced criticism for quoting the late right-wing Tory MP Enoch Powell’s infamous “rivers of blood” speech when he referred to “ an island of strangers”.
An ally close to Mr Nowak insisted that his words were more aimed at “offering leadership” rather than attacking the government.
But the TUC general secretary’s fiercest criticism is reserved for Mr Farage and Reform, while not naming them directly.
He said: “The populist right has wasted no time in exploiting frustration – spreading baseless myths that blame migrant workers and asylum seekers for everything from cuts to the winter fuel allowance and disability support to the cost of living crisis.
“These claims are dangerous and false. But if the left doesn’t offer serious, workable solutions, those lies will continue to fill the vacuum.”
Mr Farage claimed that the attacks on him and his party were because it opened up a nine-point lead in the polls this week and appeared to be on course to win the next general election.
He said: “They are in a state of blind panic. They don’t know what to do.”
However, Mr Nowak insisted that the British people “are not anti-immigration, they are anti-chaos”.
“The British public hasn’t turned its back on friends, co-workers, and neighbours from overseas – or on our proud tradition of offering sanctuary to people fleeing war and persecution,” he wrote.
“What they’re rejecting is a system that often feels chaotic, unfair, and out of control.
“A system where those seeking asylum wait years in limbo while hotel costs spiral. Where rogue employers exploit migrant workers with impunity. And where local services – schools, hospitals, housing – have been so underinvested in that communities feel abandoned.”
Instead, the TUC leader wants to see proper funding for the Fair Work Agency which can end exploitative companies taking advantage of migrant labour.
He said: “Ministers must fully fund and properly empower the new Fair Work Agency. This body must have the teeth necessary to hold exploitative employers to account – particularly those who undercut wages and erode national labour standards by mistreating migrant workers.”
He also called for a more “humane” asylum system and said that those waiting to have their cases considered “should be allowed to work and contribute to the economy”.
“Keeping people trapped in poverty helps no one,” he said. “Letting people work would allow them to contribute, pay taxes, and start to rebuild their lives. It would reduce pressure on public services and allow us too to benefit from the skills that those fleeing persecution can bring.
“A fair system doesn’t mean gimmicks or cruel policies like the failed Rwanda plan.
“It means serious solutions like trialling humanitarian visas, which would allow people to apply for asylum legally from abroad.”
