Speaking on BBC Politics Live after being challenged by BBC host Nick Robinson, the Labour candidate hoping to win against Ian Duncan Smith at the upcoming elections claimed her party will not apply any targets to Britain’s immigration system. Ms Shaheen claimed she was proud of her party’s immigration plan as a response to years of missed unachievable targets set out by the Tories. 

She said: “Ultimately we’re not going to have immigration targets.

“We have had ten years of an immigration system with targets that have been missed again and again.

“We had parties that have played into xenophobia and we had black Britons deported.

“We’ve had a shambolic and cruel immigration system and we are going to do away with that system and I’m proud.”

It comes as Shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti told BBC Breakfast this morning that Labour’s Brexit plan will include a close relationship with the EU that will allow the continuation of movement between Britain and the Brussels bloc. 

Despite arguing freedom of movement will end under her party’s plan, the Labour peer claimed: “There will be one way or another movement between Britain and the EU.”

Challenged on the unclear policy, Ms Shaheen told Nick Robinson: “There’s a technical difference between freedom of movement within the EU and there are some laws and policies around that.

“What we’re saying is when we have a second referendum and people still want to leave then in that case the exact free movement that we have right now in terms of laws will end.

“But what we’re not saying is that people are going to stop moving around.

“That there won’t be some kind of agreement with what a new type of freedom of movement might look like.”

Labour Party delegates in September voted to “maintain and extend free movement” to allow EU citizens continued rights to relocate and work in the UK after Brexit.

The motion tabled at the Labour Party Conference also committed the party to extend voting rights to foreign nationals who legally reside in the country.

DON’T MISS:
BBC’s Katya Adler reveals Juncker dismissed ‘unrealistic’ Labour plan [INSIGHT]
Shami Chakrabarti grilled on ‘impractical’ Labour’s working policy [VIDEO]
Shami Chakrabarti in tense BBC grilling over Labour antisemitism claim [INTERVIEW]

Source: Read Full Article