David Blunkett warns the left: you can't outdo Tories on immigration

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

David Blunkett, often portrayed as Labour's most hardline home secretary, has warned that it is becoming "almost fashionable on the left to be xenophobic".

In a Guardian comment is free piece, he tells his Labour colleagues that "you can't outdo the Conservatives in relation to immigration" and says the idea that the answer is getting tough on anyone seeking to enter Britain is a message of despair.

Blunkett says the "xenophobic trend" on the liberal left goes far beyond Ed Miliband's adviser Lord Glasman, who caused shock over the summer by urging a temporary halt to mass immigration.

"We are in danger on the left of swinging from one extreme to another. The pendulum is swinging too far. It is not simply that Maurice (now Lord) Glasman has made remarks which he then sought to clarify. We all do that. No, it is the underlying message that is now emerging," writes Blunkett.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/30/david-blunkett-warns-against-xenophobia

---

How do we reconcile that (1) immigration is not a right but (2) racism is bad?