Robert Jenrick has claimed the UK is “already an island of strangers” after the prime minister faced criticism for using that phrase in a speech on migration.
The shadow justice secretary told Sky News Breakfast with Wilfred Frost that the UK was not at risk of becoming an “island of strangers”, as Sir Keir claimed, but that this already the reality.
Politics latest: PM under fire for ‘island of strangers’ phrase
Asked if he agreed with the PM’s language he said: “I think we already are. I think there are certain places in this country where people are not living side by side, where we are a very divided and segregated society.
“If you look at the centre of Bradford, for example, 50% of people were not born in the UK. If you look at the centre of Luton, almost 50% of people only arrived in the UK in the last 10 years. If you look at parts of Dagenham, the white British population has reduced by 50% in the last 25 years.”
In 2021, 80.1% of Bradford residents reported their country of birth as England according to the ONS, while in Luton the figure is 60.3% of the local population and in Barking and Dagenham it was 58.2%.
In Barking and Dagenham, about 85% of the population identified as white in 2001, which fell to 58.3% in 2011 and 44.9% in 2021.
In his speech on Monday announcing a package of measures to reduce net migration, Sir Keir pledged a new system that is “controlled, selective and fair”.
He said without the fair rules, “we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together”.
The comment has attracted criticism from within his own party, including Labour MP Sarah Owen, who said it could put the UK on “a very dark path”.
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The chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee said “fair and sensible” checks on immigration “should not equal blaming all the woes of our country on immigrants”.
“The best way to avoid becoming an ‘island of strangers’ is investing in communities to thrive – not pitting people against each other,” she added.
“I’ve said it before and will say it again, chasing the tail of the right risks taking our country down a very dark path.”
Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, also said the phrase mimicked the “scaremongering of the far-right”, while former shadow chancellor John McDonnell argued it was reminiscent of the late politician Enoch Powell.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the prime minister, pointing out “he also said we are a diverse nation and that he celebrates that”.
She added: “It is possible to both say that we have had huge benefits through generations by people coming, being part of communities, contributing, and also that that will continue to be important in the future, and also say we have a problem with the immigration system and that net migration needs to come down.”
