Migration may NOT fall under Labour Brexit, Abbott admits

Abbott said Labour would listen to public services and business about Brexit
She said both groups wanted to maintain the flow of immigration into Britain
Net immigration has fallen already since the referendum but is far above target

By Tim Sculthorpe, Deputy Political Editor For Mailonline

Published: 11:07 GMT, 17 December 2017 | Updated: 11:08 GMT, 17 December 2017

EU migration to Britain may not fall under a Labour Brexit deal, Diane Abbott admitted today.

The shadow home secretary said public service and business lobbies both wanted migration to continue at the current levels.

Ms Abbott said slashing immigration would leave firms, schools and hospitals in a ‘terrible position’.

Net migration has plunged since the EU referendum to 230,000 a year but is still far above the Government promise to cut it to 100,000.

EU migration to Britain may not fall under a Labour Brexit deal, Diane Abbott (pictured on the BBC's Marr show today) has admitted

EU migration to Britain may not fall under a Labour Brexit deal, Diane Abbott (pictured on the BBC’s Marr show today) has admitted

Net migration has plunged since the EU referendum to 230,000 a year but is still far above the Government promise to cut it to 100,000

Net migration has plunged since the EU referendum to 230,000 a year but is still far above the Government promise to cut it to 100,000

In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Ms Abbott also denied she or Labour supported a second EU referendum.

She was challenged on the issue after it was revealed she wrote to constituents supporting the right of the public to have a say on the deal.

Ms Abbot said that the Government should be listening to the concerns of the public sector and their fears of a ‘collapse’ in the number of EU migrants moving to the UK.

She outlined that Labour’s position was to have ‘less bureaucracy’ in order to allow easy movement for EU migrants.

She said: ‘The health service they’re very worried about a collapse in the number of EU migrants coming here.

‘Social care would be in a terrible position, the health service, finance, education, so we will be listening as the Government should be listening to what business and the public sector says about its needs for labour.

In an interview with the BBC's Andrew Marr (pictured), Ms Abbott also denied she or Labour supported a second EU referendum

In an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr (pictured), Ms Abbott also denied she or Labour supported a second EU referendum

‘At this point both business and public services like health and education are saying we do indeed need these eastern European migrants that are coming here.

‘The reality is that business, the CBI, the Institute of Directors but also health, education and social care they say that they need these European migrants and we have to listen to them.’

Asked to elaborate on shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer’s call for easy movement, Ms Abbot said Labour would put in place a ‘fair and reasonable’ system to manage migration.

She added: ‘It will be relatively less bureaucratic than some of the proposals the Government have made.’

She added: ‘We will have to see how this negotiation goes. It may involve a visa system, but we have to see how these negotiations the Government’s undertaking go.’