Labour’s immigration policy is not the Britain we want

‘In his desperate – and futile – efforts to woo Reform UK voters, Keir Starmer appears to have forgotten the need to keep his core supporters on side.’ Photograph: Leon Neal/PA

On 8 July 2013, the newly elected Pope Francis travelled to the island of Lampedusa to speak of the migrants who had died crossing the sea: “These brothers and sisters of ours were trying to escape difficult situations to find some serenity and peace; they were looking for a better place for themselves and their families, but instead they found death.”

He went on to say: “Our shared response may be articulated by four verbs: to welcome, to protect, to promote, and to integrate.”