Labour, immigration and the working class vote

We are anticipating a high-quality debate with an excellent mix of MPs, sector representatives and political commentators.

Labour Party heavyweights Jack Dromey, Kate Green and Denis MacShane will be going up against the leading expert on public opinion and immigration, Dr Rob Ford, influential left-wing thinker and editor of the New Statesman, Mehdi Hasan, and long term equalities activist and trade unionist, Kamaljeet Jandu.

This will not only be an opportunity to consider some of the past failures but also to come up with concrete proposals on how the Labour Party should move forward in developing its position on immigration.

Kate Green’s recent article in Progress magazine discussed how labour can win voters back on the thorny issues of immigration and welfare. This was an article inspired by an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration private briefing with Dr Ford, in which she argues that  the Labour Party should return to concentrating on ‘values-led policies that improve labour market prospects and employment conditions for everyone’, will be a topic of conversation, and a focal point for many participants at the fringe.

We will also explore the challenges the leadership face in terms of winning back the working class vote and where the scope for a progressive immigration policy, which takes on board wide-ranging interests that makes migration work for the UK, can eventually emerge from. 

MRN aims to hold similar events at the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour conferences in 2012.

You can find out more about the event on our Events Page.