THE Prime Minister “can’t carry on doing U-turns”, a former Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party has said.
Commenting on reports that the government’s new immigration plans may be watered down following criticism from Angela Rayner, Lord Cryer told GB News: “Well, I mean, on migration, we don’t know actually what’s going on, because there have been sort of indications that there might be a U-turn but we haven’t had anything confirmed.
“You can’t carry on doing U-turns ad infinitum. You can do a few, because people will say, ‘Well, at least the government’s listening, you know, and taking notice.
“But actually, even if people disagree with what you’re doing, if you stick to your guns, very often they’ll give you the respect of sticking to your guns.
“And that’s what I think he’s going to have to do in this position, in this case, but he might well not do.
“Migration figures are coming down, but the big problem that we’ve got is that we’ve got this huge waiting list, and that goes back to the way that the Home Office has ground to a halt over the past few years.
“When I was elected MP for Labour in 2010, I could get an answer from the Home Office on an immigration case in two or three weeks.
“By the time I stood down at the last election, it was nearer three months. You can’t sustain a system on that basis.”
He added: “I was chair of the parliamentary party for nearly ten years, so I saw him close up, and he’s cautious. He’s not spineless, because you’re prepared to take on anti-Semitism in the Labour Party, which was, in my view, absolutely vital.
“One of the two biggest parties in Britain, there were areas where it become riddled with racism, and it would have been far easier for him to just to sort of soft-pedalled on that.
“But I think, one of the things that’s happened is that, unlike a lot of politicians now, Keir came to politics pretty late, had a long career as a lawyer, and then Director of Public Prosecutions, so he wasn’t as familiar with Parliament or the Labour Party and the structures, as you usually would be when you got to that to that stage.
“He leant far too heavily on Morgan McSweeney. And there are all sorts of questions, by the way, about – you mentioned Mandelson in your intro. I think, now he’s no longer got McSweeney, I’m hoping now he can assert his authority, because he’s going to have to do it.”
