Grace Williams’ open letter to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper comes after Keir Starmer was accused of ‘mimicking’ the far-right while revealing plans to significantly cut net migration, reports Marco Marcelline
Waltham Forest Council leader Grace Williams has urgently asked the Home Secretary to “reassure” the borough that the government will not abandon its commitment to “diversity and openness” amid its drive to cut net migration.
In a joint letter published yesterday (13th May) with fellow co-chair of the Waltham Forest Borough of Sanctuary, Averil Pooten-Watan, the council leader said the government must not turn its back on values of “internationalism, diversity, openness, generosity and respect”.
The open letter comes a day after Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled the government’s white paper on immigration which includes a significant tightening of visa requirements, and tougher English proficiency tests.
The policy announcement was accompanied by a critical tone towards immigration, with Starmer saying high levels of it had caused “incalculable damage” to society while a lack of integration risked the UK turning into an “island of strangers”.
The language, widely understood to be an attempt to court supporters of Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration Reform Party, was openly criticised by left-wing Labour MPs for “scapegoating” immigrants and “mimicking” the far-right.
In a clear distancing from the government’s nascent tone, Cllr Williams told Home Secretary Yvette Cooper that diversity and migration had “enriched” Waltham Forest and made it a “stronger borough”.
She additionally warned the government that “communities like Waltham Forest are on the sharp end of language which causes division and recent public discourse has led to real fear and worry”.
Speaking to the Echo following the publication of the letter, Averil, who runs a refugee drop in space at St Barnabas Church in Walthamstow, said she was “deeply concerned” by the government’s new immigration policy.
She affirmed: “We need to unlock pathways to support those seeking safety and belonging and we must pursue constructive dialogue and policies that support all members of our communities to thrive with dignity and hope.”
Meanwhile, Shahid Mahmood, who runs support services for migrants and asylum seekers via the Togetherness Café in Leyton, sharply criticised the government’s recent language.
He told the Echo: “I have spent my entire life working to bring people together, across cultures and generations, because I believed in a better, fairer Britain – a country where everyone has a place. But after Keir Starmer’s speech on 12th May, I have to ask: What place are we really being offered?
“Even if the tone is softer than [Enoch] Powell’s, the feeling is familiar and the message is clear: Immigrants are still seen as a problem to manage, not people to value. The truth is we have built businesses, created jobs, and worked day and night in hospitals, care homes, factories and farms.”
Shahid added: “We have endured poverty, overcrowded housing, and long hours in low-paid jobs and given our blood, sweat and tears to keep this country running. All of this is rarely acknowledged. Instead we are reduced to immigration statistics, visa caps, and soundbites about ‘integration’.”
On 12th May, Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy told parliament that the government’s proposed immigration bill “does welcome things, but it also does things that I fear we will come to regret in future”.
In a veiled critique of both the immigration policy and Farage’s Reform UK, she continued: “…We will come to regret pandering to those who wish to divide us, rather than getting on and sorting out why we still have a cost of living crisis.”
However, right-wing politicians including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the government’s policy approach as “not going far enough” and said Starmer was “taking us for fools”.
Meanwhile, Farage said the government and Starmer “appeared to be learning a great deal from [Reform]”.
You can read Cllr Williams’ and Averil Pooten-Watan’s letter to the Home Secretary in full here
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