Yousaf: PM's ‘fearful undertones' on immigration voter ‘dog whistle'
Number 10 has already rejected claims that the remarks echoed those in Enoch Powell's infamous 1968 'rivers of blood' speech.
But Mr Yousaf insisted it had 'the same fearful undertones', as he argued that migrants are the people who 'keep Britain afloat'.
In a piece written for LBC, the former SNP leader said: 'Starmer's invocation of 'strangers' is a modern echo – a dog whistle to voters who blame migrants for every social ill, from stretched public services to the cost-of-living crisis.
'It betrays a failure to understand, or deliberately mask, the fact that Britain's prosperity depends on migration, on openness – not building walls.'
Mr Yousaf, who described himself as being the 'proud grandson of immigrants', launched the attack days after the UK Government unveiled plans that will mean those coming to Britain will have to wait 10 years to apply for settled status, instead of five.
Other changes will mean a higher standard of English will be required for those seeking to come to the UK, while ministers will also end overseas recruitment for care home workers.
Under the Tories, nearly one million people came to the UK from overseas between 2019 and 2023.
My Labour government is taking back control of our borders. pic.twitter.com/A5Rf4InhNb
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 12, 2025
Mr Yousaf said that the Prime Minister's speech had 'underlined a lamentable truth', that 'the Labour Party has become so desperate to stem the decline in their polling, they haven't just lurched to the right, but are comfortable embracing rhetoric once confined to the hardest edges of the Conservative Party and now central to Nigel Farage's Reform Party'.
Stressing the importance of immigrants to the UK, the former SNP leader that in England 'roughly 35% of doctors are non-British', adding that these people 'save lives on a daily basis'.
He also noted more than 10,000 social care staff in Scotland have come from overseas, adding that 'every major sector' in the economy 'relies on migrants to plug chronic skills gaps'.
As such, Mr Yousaf told the Prime Minister: 'Denigrate immigrants as 'strangers' and you undermine and repel the very people who keep Britain afloat.'
With Anas Sarwar having agreed that migration must come down 'across the board', Mr Yousaf hit out at the Scottish Labour leader for having 'slavishly' fallen into line behind the Prime Minister.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was accused of 'slavishly' supporting the PM (Image: Jane Barlow/PA)
Mr Yousaf said: 'Under current rules, neither Sarwar's father nor my own would have been allowed into the UK to build prosperous lives, not only for their own families but for the hundreds, if not thousands, of people they have employed over the years.'
The former SNP leader added: 'Sarwar's promise of standing up to Starmer and up for Scotland is rightly ridiculed, and as I suspect Anas will find out, the people of Scotland see right through it.
'He has sat silent as Starmer betrayed Waspi women, cut the Winter Fuel Allowance, slashed disability support, and now threatens our country's prosperity – all to try and pander to Reform voters.'
READ MORE:
Sarwar backs immigration reforms but avoids Starmer's rhetoric
Nicola Sturgeon: Prime Minister's immigration comments 'dumb politics'
Recalling that he had been first minister of Scotland at a time when Rishi Sunak was prime minister and Sadiq Khan was London Mayor, Mr Yousaf insisted: 'We should feel a sense of pride that in Britain at one time we had a Muslim Mayor of London, Hindu PM, and Scottish-Pakistani first minister.
'That is a blueprint for other nations on how multiculturalism has been a success, not a failure.'
He praised his successor John Swinney, for his 'leadership' on such issues and for 'condemning Reform's vile rhetoric and standing firmly for inclusive values'.
Mr Yousaf added: 'If only more politicians had such conviction, we would not be on the brink of possibly handing the keys of No 10 to Nigel Farage.'
However a spokesperson for the Scottish Labour leader told LBC that the 'desperate attack' from Mr Yousaf 'deliberately misunderstands and misrepresents Anas Sarwar's position on a number of issues'.
The spokesperson said: 'It is possible to celebrate the positive impact of immigration and diaspora communities in our society, while believing we need a managed and controlled immigration system. To pretend otherwise only helps right-wing politicians to use the issue to divide our communities.
'It is worth remembering that Humza Yousaf is a former health secretary and former first minister who helped create a social care crisis in Scotland by breaking the system, cutting budgets for councils, failing to workforce plan, and delivering chronically low pay and conditions for care workers.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Western Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Parliament moves closer to setting up Iraq war-style inquiry into Gaza conflict
Parliament moved a step closer to setting up a probe after MPs agreed that the Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill should be listed for a debate later this year. The draft new law would 'require the inquiry to consider any UK military, economic or political co-operation with Israel since October 2023', the month when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 others. Israel's retaliatory offensive has seen more than 54,000 people in Gaza killed, according to the territory's health ministry. Smoke from an Israeli bombardment in the northern Gaza Strip (Maya Alleruzzo/AP) 'Our future history books will report with shame those that had the opportunity to stop this carnage but failed to act to achieve it, and so we will continue our campaigns in this House and outside because we're appalled at what is happening,' the former Labour Party leader told the Commons. Mr Corbyn, the Independent MP for Islington North, had earlier said: 'In the aftermath of the Iraq war, several attempts were made to establish an inquiry surrounding the conduct of the British military operations. 'The government of the day spent many years resisting those attempts and those demands for an inquiry, however, they could not prevent the inevitable and in 2016 we had the publication of the Chilcot Inquiry, which Sir John Chilcot had undertaken over several years.' Mr Corbyn added that when he was the Labour leader, when the 12-volume report came out, he 'apologised on behalf of the Labour Party for the catastrophic decision to go to war in Iraq' and added: 'History is now repeating itself.' He warned that 'human beings have endured a level of horror and inhumanity that should haunt us all forever – entire families wiped out, limbs strewn across the street, mothers screaming for their children buried under the rubble, human beings torn to pieces, doctors performing amputations without anaesthetic, children picking grass and dirt from the ground thinking they might find something edible to eat'. Jeremy Corbyn said 'human beings have endured a level of horror and inhumanity that should haunt us all forever' (PA) Mr Corbyn alleged that the UK had a 'highly influential role in Israel's military operations', including by supplying weapons, and also said a future inquiry should seek the 'truth regarding the role of British military bases in Cyprus' and Government 'legal advice over an assessment of genocide'. He said the inquiry would uncover the 'murky history of what's gone on, the murky arms sales and the complicity in appalling acts of genocide'. Deputy Speaker Nus Ghani called 'order' when several MPs applauded, as Mr Corbyn presented his Bill. The Bill will be listed for its next debate on July 4.
Scottish Sun
38 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Satellite pic from days after Maddie vanished shows eerie ‘tent' in Brueckner's camping spot now being searched by cops
MADELEINE McCann prime suspect Christian Brueckner stayed in a 'wild camping' ground on land now being scoured by cops, The Sun can reveal. Search teams have zeroed in on scrubland between Brueckner's old home and the apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal where Maddie was snatched in May 2007. 16 A recent satellite picture of the farmhouse 16 A satellite image of the farmhouse in 2007, seemingly with a tent inside 16 Police searching the abandoned building on Tuesday Credit: Dan Charity 16 Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Beurckner pictured arriving in to court in 2024 Credit: Dan Charity 16 Madeleine McCann disappeared in Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007 Credit: AFP 16 And German police leading the hunt hope the convicted child sex fiend and rapist may have left vital clues which could finally nail him for Maddie's murder. Searchers were yesterday focusing on at least five derelict farmhouses and barns where Brueckner camped at the time the British tot was taken. Sun analysis of a June 2007 satellite image of one building being searched yesterday revealed what appeared to be a white tent pitched within its walls. The stone-walled property was photographed from space on June 22, 2007 - seven weeks after Maddie was taken from her family's Ocean Club apartment a five minute drive away. Recent pictures of the same spot show the building's massive deterioration - and lay bare the enormous task facing police seeking elusive scraps of DNA evidence. The 2007 images shows the roofless cottage or barn is approximately 58ft long by 25ft wide with a white, 9ft tent like structure pitched inside its walls. It is impossible to say whether the building was occupied by Brueckner or one of a number of hippie types living in the area in camper vans and tents at the time. But fading hopes of finding evidence linking him to the three-year-old British tot were also being hampered by the march of time yesterday. Chain saws and diggers were drafted in to excavate ground and clear thick undergrowth which has overwhelmed many of the abandoned buildings. And luxury holiday homes have been built on other key spots within a ten acre area being combed by scores of Portuguese and German cops. 16 The abandoned house was scoured in the first day of the Maddie search Credit: Dan Charity 16 The barn was filled with overgrown shrubbery 16 A mugshot of Christian Brueckner Teams spent yesterday toiling in 29C heat at the seaside search plot in an area called Atalaia, a mile east of the Ocean Club and half a mile from Brueckner's old house. Ground penetrating radar scanners - capable of finding bodies 15 feet below ground - were also drafted into the grim search. Locals said the spot close to a cliff was once a romantic spot where Portuguese couples would canoodle after dark in their cars. But by the early noughties the open scrubland offering sea views and no parking charges attracted a foreign 'wild camper' set - believed to include Brueckner. Police are believed to have launched their 'last throw of the dice' search after tip-offs from associates about the area and geolocation checks of his computer hardware. Local man Joao Pedro, 63, who grew up in the area, told The Sun: 'It used to be a romantic spot - I used to take my girlfriends there. 'But at the time Maddie went missing in the noughties it was very popular with foreign campers and you'd see camper vans and tents there all time. 'It was totally unregulated back then and strangers would just pitch up and stay there for free and no one would bother them.' 16 Police will be searching scrub land, using radar equipment 16 A firefighter draining a well with a yellow hose pipe 16 One of the derelict and abandoned properties close to Praia De Luz, Portugal, which has been searched by teams investigating on Wednesday 16 Kate (R) and Gerry McCann hold pyjamas similar to those of their daughter during a press conference in 2007 Credit: Getty A police source at the scene told The Sun yesterday that searches were focusing on the area because Brueckner used to camp in the buildings. One officer said: 'We are here because Brueckner used to camp here. Not only Brueckner but many people.' The Sun also examined historic satellite imagery showing Brueckner's single story house around half a mile from the current search site at the time of the abduction. Images recorded in 2006 and 2007 show vehicles resembling his distinctive VW camper van nearby. He moved out of the white and yellow bungalow in late 2006 but a white roofed van still appears to be parked outside it in June 2007 after Maddie was snatched. A white structure erected close to his house in 2006 when he lived there also appears to have vanished the following year. Imagery also shows scores of open wells across the entire search area which were being drained and methodically checked for clues yesterday. Wider satellite pictures taken in 2007 show a string of building plots around the current search area - which have since become luxury homes and holiday estates. The worst fear of officers is that Brueckner could have hidden Maddie's body or vital clues in the foundations of buildings which would now be impossible to excavate. Hopes that telltale fragments of clothing - like the missing tot's pink Eeyore pyjamas - might be found are also remote. German federal officers are racing against time to find vital DNA clues after the 48-year-old fiend Brueckner boasted he would 'go to ground' when he is released in September. The vile pervert - who cops are convinced took and killed Maddie - is currently due to finish a seven year sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. A Portuguese police source said last night: 'This really is a last ditch effort - search teams here are hoping they get lucky. 'Officers are determined to do everything they possibly can before Brueckner walks free. They know what is at stake.' 16 A criminal police investigator walks near ruins as police resume the search for the body of Madeleine McCann today 16 One of the derelict and abandoned properties close to Praia da Luz 16 One abandoned house was scoured earlier on Wednesday
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Labour and Tories vote down Hamilton community funding
At South Lanarkshire Council's Hamilton area committee on Wednesday, SNP councillors proposed giving more than £5000 to 11 community groups in Hamilton, Larkhall and Bothwell, highlighting there had been tens of thousands of pounds in underspend in the community grants budget in previous years. However, Labour councillors Allan Falconer and Mo Razzaq proposed a much smaller amount, with their plan receiving backing from Tory councillors – including Tory by-election candidate Richard Nelson. One group that was eligible for more than £1900 only received £300. It comes a day before voters in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse hit the polls to elect a new MSP following the death of Christina McKelvie. READ MORE: New poll shows Scots overwhelmingly back independence over direct rule Hamilton councillor John Ross said Labour and the Tories teaming up to deny community groups funding was "egregious". He said: "South Lanarkshire SNP are disappointed to see Labour and the Tories team-up once again to deny local community groups in the Hamilton area the funding that they need and deserve. "This is particularly egregious given there is money sitting unused in the Community Grants budget specifically for this purpose. "We call on the Labour party and their coalition partners to end their austerity agenda and invest in the people and places of South Lanarkshire." South Lanarkshire Council had been run by a minority SNP administration before the local elections in 2022, and the party was returned as the largest that year. However, the SNP's 27 seats were not enough to take a majority on the 64-seat council and instead Labour won the support of the Tory group and LibDems which allowed them to form an administration. The SNP will be aiming to hold onto the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Scottish Parliament seat they have held since 2011 when the seat was created. READ MORE: Labour minister in 'jaw-dropping' U-turn on drug consumption rooms Clacking at the heels of SNP candidate and South Lanarkshire councillor Katy Loudon will be Reform UK's Ross Lambie and Scottish Labour's Davy Russell, with the contest widely expected to be a three-horse race between the parties. McKelvie won the seat three times on the trot with a majority of more than 4500 over Labour in 2021. Professor John Curtice has predicted whichever party wins they will likely do so on less than a third of the vote. He told The National he would be surprised if Reform won the by-election, predicting they will come "a good third". Curtice no party "is going to do terribly well" in a fragmented political environment, but he considers the SNP to be slight favourites in the race.
