Labour Party 16/05/2014

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1:09:12 > 1:09:15One of the things I've done since I became leader of the Labour Party is

1:09:15 > 1:09:19understand where we got things wrong in government, and changed them.

1:09:19 > 1:09:23And one of the things we didn't get right was immigration.

1:09:23 > 1:09:24And that's why I've got a new approach.

1:09:24 > 1:09:28Millions of people in this country are concerned about immigration.

1:09:28 > 1:09:30And if people are concerned about it,

1:09:30 > 1:09:33the Labour Party I lead is going to be talking about it.

1:09:33 > 1:09:35And in these local and European elections,

1:09:35 > 1:09:38Labour is setting out a different plan.

1:09:40 > 1:09:43Britain's diversity is a source of strength and has made us

1:09:43 > 1:09:45a more successful country.

1:09:45 > 1:09:48But I know that people can lose out

1:09:48 > 1:09:51if migration isn't properly controlled and managed.

1:09:51 > 1:09:55And I know that people can see their wages undercut.

1:09:55 > 1:09:58So it's not prejudice when people worry about immigration -

1:09:58 > 1:10:00it's understandable.

1:10:01 > 1:10:04Low-skill migration has been too high and we need to bring it down.

1:10:04 > 1:10:08That means the maximum transitional controls for new countries

1:10:08 > 1:10:10coming in from Eastern Europe,

1:10:10 > 1:10:12it means properly enforcing the minimum wage,

1:10:12 > 1:10:16so people aren't brought here to undercut workers already here,

1:10:16 > 1:10:20and it means let's give proper training to workers already here

1:10:20 > 1:10:24so that they have a fighting chance of filling the vacancies that exist.

1:10:25 > 1:10:29There's nothing wrong in employing people from abroad, but the rules

1:10:29 > 1:10:33need to be fair so that local people get a fair crack at the whip.

1:10:33 > 1:10:36I met young people at the college who were learning how to be

1:10:36 > 1:10:39car mechanics, learning how to be bricklayers.

1:10:39 > 1:10:42They're desperate for apprenticeships, desperate for jobs.

1:10:42 > 1:10:44That's why, under a Labour government,

1:10:44 > 1:10:47companies bringing in skilled workers from outside the European Union

1:10:47 > 1:10:50will also be required to offer

1:10:50 > 1:10:53apprenticeships to the next generation.

1:10:53 > 1:10:57For recruitment agencies, some of whom do a good job,

1:10:57 > 1:11:00they can't engage in bad practices, like saying,

1:11:00 > 1:11:02"We're only going to employ people from abroad."

1:11:02 > 1:11:04That's wrong and we would change it,

1:11:04 > 1:11:07we would say to all recruitment agencies, you can't just

1:11:07 > 1:11:10exclude people because they happen to be living in Britain.

1:11:11 > 1:11:14I've come to Acton College in West London.

1:11:14 > 1:11:18This is the college where my dad came, 70 years ago,

1:11:18 > 1:11:21after fleeing from the Nazis.

1:11:21 > 1:11:25He worked as a removals man by day and he studied English here.

1:11:25 > 1:11:29He knew he couldn't get on in life, couldn't get on in Britain,

1:11:29 > 1:11:31if he didn't learn English.

1:11:31 > 1:11:33'Everyone who comes to live

1:11:33 > 1:11:36'and work here should learn the English language.'

1:11:38 > 1:11:42How important do you think these courses are, English...

1:11:42 > 1:11:44'What was really striking to me

1:11:44 > 1:11:49'was talking to the women in the classroom about learning English.'

1:11:49 > 1:11:52They said to me overwhelmingly, look, we've got

1:11:52 > 1:11:56to be able to learn English, because otherwise, as one of them said,

1:11:56 > 1:11:58how can we be part of our society?

1:11:58 > 1:12:00I'll make some simple changes.

1:12:00 > 1:12:03English language teaching has been cut back in recent years.

1:12:03 > 1:12:06But talk to the people at this college and they say that's

1:12:06 > 1:12:10much more important than some of the non-essential translation services.

1:12:10 > 1:12:12So we'll make English language teaching a priority,

1:12:12 > 1:12:14and the priority it deserves to be.

1:12:14 > 1:12:17And we'd also have a very simple rule which says that

1:12:17 > 1:12:20if you work in the public sector, in a job face-to-face

1:12:20 > 1:12:23with the public, you need to be able to speak English.

1:12:25 > 1:12:27I'm going to tell people what I believe,

1:12:27 > 1:12:32and I believe that diversity is good for Britain.

1:12:32 > 1:12:36But it's got to be made to work for all and not just for some.

1:12:36 > 1:12:38That means everybody taking responsibility,

1:12:38 > 1:12:41everybody playing their part and contributing to the country.

1:12:41 > 1:12:44That is what One Nation is all about

1:12:44 > 1:12:46and that's the Britain I want to build.