Don’t mention immigration! Corbyn row over ‘key issue’

JEREMY Corbyn has been accused of blocking any mention of immigration in Labour’s official referendum leaflet campaigning for the UK to stay in the EU.

Furious MPs say the Labour leader was urged to include a section addressing voters’ concerns about immigration.

They warn that many voters in the party’s traditional Northern heartlands are backing Brexit because of anger over the influx of immigrants.

However, the glossy four-page leaflet mailed to millions of homes does not mention the word immigration. One shadow minister told the Daily Mail: ‘Loads of us told Jeremy’s office that immigration had to be included in the leaflet, but they didn’t want to know.

‘It’s ridiculous that we seem to be ignoring it completely.’

It echoes last year’s election campaign when Labour candidates were told to ‘move the conversation on’ if voters raised concerns about immigrants.

Last night, a spokesman for Mr Corbyn flatly denied he had vetoed any mention of immigration, adding: ‘The leaflet reinforces Labour’s main messages about the dangers of a Tory Brexit and the threat to jobs and workers’ rights.’

But the failure to address immigration will fuel suspicion that Labour is ducking the issue.

Shadow home office minister Keir Starmer said there was a growing perception among Labour voters that the party had ‘walked round a problem, rather than confronted a problem’.

He told the House magazine: ‘What we’re picking up is the public – rightly or wrongly – think that Labour doesn’t want to talk to them about immigration. We have got to break that and make it clear that we are engaging.’