Immigration to the fore as Umunna tours UK to challenge rise of Ukip and Greens

One man’s mission to make sure the Labour message isn’t lost in translation.

Chuka Umunna has described Green party policies as “reprehensible” and accused Ukip of racism that is “beyond the pale” at the launch of a UK tour aimed at painting a positive picture of a Labour government.

It’s a sign of how worried Labour is becoming of the electoral threat posed by the smaller parties.

However, in a move likely to appeal to Ukip supporters, the shadow business secretary claimed the government should not spend millions of pounds translating documents for immigrants who don’t speak English.

Recent figures show the Department for Work and Pensions alone paid out more than £3.5 million to have forms translated so people could claim benefits in 165 languages including Icelandic, Tongan and Nigerian Pidgin.

Some estimates put the figure across government at £100 million.

Umunna, whose father came to the UK from Nigeria, said: “We must ensure people learn English and we’re not translating documents for them.”

Umunna is set to travel to all parts of the UK as part of his Future Jobs of Britain Tour setting out how Labour would grow the economy and create a “fairer and more equal society”.

Sources claim the stunt is aimed at positioning Labour as the party of aspiration.

But launching the tour, Labour’s most high profile ethnic minority minister couldn’t get away from the issue that is set to become one of the main themes of the general election campaign immigration.

He said: “I believe in a fair and firm immigration policy with proper controls as to who comes in and out of our country.

“Also proper reporting of our labour market rules so people that come here are not exploited and there is no undercutting. But I don’t believe we should be using the issue of immigration like Ukip do to scaremonger and set different groups against each other. That goes against the British values of respect, fair play and tolerance.

“When Nigel Farage is putting himself forward as a potential Prime Minister and he gets stuck in a traffic jam on the way to a conference and says this is all the fault of immigrants I just disagree with him.

“I think most people will see through that.”

And he went further in attacking Ukip. “I’m concerned about racism in Ukip. Some of the things their candidates, members and supporters have said are beyond the pale and are inexcusable.”

It’s claimed that polls of Ukip members have found they’re keen on Britain’s past and wary of the future.

In a further dig Umunna said: “I don’t think it’s on to pretend that we can somehow turn the clock back and rebuild the Britain of the 1950s. And frankly I think for a lot of people particularly women and people of colour in terms of getting into the workplace I don’t think that was a great place to be.

“We’ve got to be focussed on the future not the past and our job is to make sure everyone’s got a stake in the future. We’ve got to make the 2020s and 2030s more attractive than what the past presents.”

Umunna, often tipped to become Britain’s first black Prime Minister, was quoted last week as saying the House of Commons was a sexist place and that he’d seen female colleagues in the chamber subject to misogynist abuse.

Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Post he said: “Do I think the Commons is a racist place? I don’t know, but I would say we need to look and sound more like modern Britain.”

And tackling the threat Labour faces from the Green Party he focused on comments made by Natalie Bennett who would lead the party in the Commons if she’s elected in May in which she said it should not be a crime to belong to al Qaida or Islamic State (IS) but only to carry out terrorist acts.

He said: “The increased scrutiny of what the Greens are doing just now is welcome. It shows they are an established party.

“I do think they need to explain why they think it should be legal for people to join terrorist organisations like IS and al Qaida. That is not something that is acceptable to me or my constituents. If you’re presenting yourself as a serious party then you need to explain your policies and I think frankly those are reprehensible.”

Umunna’s tour of the UK will see him visit a string of marginal seats where Labour will have to see off not just the Conservatives but the new players like Ukip and the Greens.

He’s set to visit businesses, schools and universities setting out Labour’s business credentials and hearing what young people want in order to be able to get on.

He explained: “What’s been driving a lot of disillusion both of the economy and the political system is people feeling they don’t have a stake in this new and different world we live in.

“Our job is to empower them and equip them to be able to get on and do well.”

Key policies he will set out include using government procurement to back British firms, expanding apprenticeships and devolving more power to cities and regions.

He’s also determined that the UK should stay in the EU.

“I think it would be quite catastrophic for British industry, particularly manufacturing, if we left the European Union and I think the prospect of an in/out referendum would create two years of uncertainty.

“Take the uncertainty that the Scottish referendum created, multiply that at least tenfold and that begins to give you a sense of the uncertainty we would have.”