Car crash interview shows Tories are still playing both sides on migration

In a car crash interview, shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins has shown the Tories are still speaking from both sides of their mouth on migration. It’s a situation which is bad for the country at large and bad for the people who choose to come and live here:

“This is a spectacular attempt to avoid answering the question” @TrevorPTweets

Shadow environment secretary @VictoriaAtkins MP is asked five times whether her proposed migration cap will apply to seasonal workers like fruit pickerspic.twitter.com/aVYUOVFdxt

— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) December 1, 2024

Why won’t they tell the truth?

It’s undeniable that the following two facts are true:

1. The Tories bashed migrants and migration throughout the 2010-2024 period in which they were in power.
2. During that same period, net migration increased by “two and a half times”.

So how does one explain that?

It’s dishonest, but it’s not nonsensical. The Conservative Party increase migration because:

• Our ageing population means we need an influx of young people to keep the retirement system affordable within the capitalist structure we live under.
• Businesses want access to workers who are willing to work for the minimum wage (and even less than that in the instance of some gig economy workers and fruit pickers).

So as you can see, there are clear capitalist reasons for migration. As the Tories are undeniably a capitalist party, this begs the question: why aren’t they making the capitalist argument for migration?

The answer is that the Tories aren’t solely a capitalist party. They’re also interested in doing things like the following:

1. Powerful and continuing nationalism
2. Disdain for human rights
3. Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
4. . …
5. . …
6. Obsession with national security
7. . …
8. . …
9. . …
10. . …
11. Obsession with crime and punishment
12. . …

In case you’re wondering, the above is a list of the “warning signs of fascism” from the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Here are some other warning signs which explain why they keep the migration tap turned on for the benefit of business owners:

8. Corporate power protected

9. Labor power suppressed

. …

. …

. …

12. Rampant cronyism and corruption

The problem for the Tories is that they couldn’t get away with talking out of both sides of their mouth forever. Their failure to deal with the issue they assured us was very, very real led to the Reform Party taking a significant part of their vote share:

❗️NEW: Tories lead, Labour plunge to 25% 😱🟦 CON 28% (+4)🟥 LAB 25% (-10)🟪 REF 19% (+4)🟧 LD 13% (+1)🟩 GRN 8% (+1)Via More In Common, 19-21 Nov (+/- vs GE2024)

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@leftiestats.bsky.social) 2024-11-21T22:45:42.537Z

While the Tories are edging ahead of Labour in some polls right now, Reform present a real issue for them. So how are the Tories managing that problem?

Not well, it seems, if Victoria Atkins’ performance is anything to go by:

It’s serial ‘put on a sad face’ artist @VictoriaAtkins not able to explain to @TrevorPTweets how the @Conservatives would help farmers to find an affordable workforce to stop food rotting in fields and orchards. Banging on about inheritance tax is a red (pun intended) herring. pic.twitter.com/L5Pa9ebXbd

— Richard Dixon, Überhyperpedant (@Linguagroover) December 1, 2024

No answers?

As highlighted by lawyer and activist Peter Stefanovic, Victoria Atkins repeatedly refused to answer whether her party would place a cap on migratory fruit pickers:

“This is a spectacular attempt to avoid answering the question” @TrevorPTweets

Shadow environment secretary @VictoriaAtkins MP is asked five times whether her proposed migration cap will apply to seasonal workers like fruit pickerspic.twitter.com/aVYUOVFdxt

— Peter Stefanovic (@PeterStefanovi2) December 1, 2024

Atkins and activists like Jeremy Clarkson have had some success in painting the Labour Party’s changes to inheritance tax as being a tax on ‘family farms’:

We are forcing a vote on Wednesday to axe the Family Farm Tax and the choice for Labour’s rural MPs is clear: are they going to stand up for their farmers or suck up to Keir Starmer? #AxeTheFamilyFarmTaxhttps://t.co/zfV27ti850

— Victoria Atkins (@VictoriaAtkins) December 1, 2024

There’s been some pushback against this narrative; not least because Clarkson himself told the Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was the “critical” reason why he purchased a farm in the first place:

🚨 NEW: Victoria Derbyshire asks Jeremy Clarkson if he's at the farmers' protest because he bought a farm to avoid inheritance tax

Clarkson: "Classic BBC that, classic… I wanted to shoot, which comes with the benefit of not paying inheritance tax" pic.twitter.com/ztUARwJSL5

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) November 19, 2024

Outlets like the Guardian have run analyses on whether this measure will be the death of family farms, or whether it’s actually just an angle for the right to attack taxes on the rich. Regardless, Victoria Atkins’ interview shows the Tories haven’t changed on migration. They’re still seemingly shouting about migrants while whispering to their rich mates that they’ll have unfettered access to cheap labour.

Atkins faced a similar issue when interviewed by the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire:

Derbyshire not allowing numbnut Victoria Atckins to get away with her usual moronic BS.

How refreshing to see a real interview on #bbclaurak

Kuenssberg needs to go asap. pic.twitter.com/T5p9tWgY0B

— Dr Susan Denim (@DrSusanDenim) December 1, 2024

Her poor performance actually produced a meme:

#bbclaurak

Victoria Atkins trying to change the subject from immigration to farming.

Victoria Derbyshire “ let’s get back to immigration “

Victoria Atkins :

pic.twitter.com/ynKambyURZ

— . (@punniebugger) December 1, 2024

Victoria Atkins: But Farmers…

Victoria Derbyshire: Can we stick with immigration?

Victoria Atkins :#BBCLauraK pic.twitter.com/eNm8p4ISH7

— Minerva (@Politcalmind) December 1, 2024

#BBCLauraK

Victoria Atkins tries to steer the conversation from immigration to farming.

Victoria Derbyshire: “Let’s stick to immigration.”

Atkins: awkward silence pic.twitter.com/LicuVowbNH

— Georgia Campbell (@GeorgiaCampbel_) December 1, 2024

People also highlighted some other issues with what Atkins had to say:

Victoria Atkins says high migration numbers under the Tories last year were due to them increasing humanitarian routes.

Victoria Derbyshire rightly points out that was just a fraction of overall arrivals. 👇 pic.twitter.com/tkhJWNrKPn

— Jack Elsom (@JackElsom) December 1, 2024

Victoria Atkins has a great way of talking and acting in a way that looks like she is responding to a question but in fact is actually doing anything but answering the question. #BBCLauraK

— Duke of Preston (@DOPreston) December 1, 2024

Just heard the woeful Victoria Atkins talking about the failures of 'this socialist government.'

She knows there's nothing about Starmer's neoliberal crew that is remotely connected to socialism.

The Tories don't just want to defeat Labour; they want to discredit socialism.

— Alan Gibbons (@mygibbo) December 1, 2024

Victoria Atkins and Labour: farming votes

At this point, regardless of which angle people approach the matter from, everyone knows the Tories were dishonest on migration. The problem is that Labour is making the exact same mistake:

🚨 WATCH: Keir Starmer's full press conference about the latest migration figures under the Tories

"This happened by design, not by accident. Brexit was used as an excuse to turn Britain into a one-nation experiment in open borders." pic.twitter.com/MSkrqpTe4Q

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) November 28, 2024

“Our immigration policy is a complete disaster”

Rory Stewart says the far-right is being driven across Europe by the perception migration control has failed, while Anand Menon says Prime Minister Starmer’s comments were “wrong” on a “basic level”#bbcqt pic.twitter.com/VRMtbpKhBP

— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) November 28, 2024

It’s no surprise Keir Starmer thinks the Tories’ failed approach will work for him; he’s a dishonest politician who isn’t very good at politics. And much like under the Tories, this is going to cause problems for both the country and the people coming to live here.

Featured image via Sky News