A cynical play for working-class votes

Kenan Malik

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“Two-Tier Keir betrays British workers.” “Labour's Tax Break for Indian Workers.” “British workers come last in Starmer’s Britain.” “An open door for further mass uncontrolled immigration of low skilled workers.” “This is not the time to trade away immigration controls.”

Quotes and headlines from Nigel Farage, the Daily Mail, Robert Jenrick, Richard Tice and Suella Braverman in response to the UK-India trade deal announced last week. If you want to see the absurdity of current debates about immigration, and the degree of cynicism with which those who claim to support British workers approach the issue, look no further.

The government trumpeted the trade deal as a “huge economic win for Britain” aimed at “raising living standards, and putting money in people's pockets”. Some rightwing Brexiters, such as Daniel Hannan and Steve Baker, hailed it as a vindication of the decision to leave the EU. But for Farage, Tice, Jenrick, Braverman, and many others, it was a scandalous betrayal of British workers.

The controversy arose from a reciprocal arrangement by which Indian workers, normally employed by an Indian company in India, but who may be working for that company in Britain on a short-term basis, and British workers in a similar situation in India, would not have to pay national insurance (or its Indian equivalent) twice, but only to their home country. This arrangement would not apply to most Indian migrants to this country. Nor would it lead to new mass immigration or to British workers losing jobs.