Paolo Di Canio: “a fascist but not a racist”. That’s ok then

I have no idea whether or not Paulo Di Canio is a racist, just as I have no clue whether everyone who waddles through Trafalgar Square on May Day with a giant portrait of Stalin believes in the necessity of the Gulag or a bullet to the back of the head. I would, however, hesitate to put such people in positions where they have authority over people who their political heroes regarded as expendable.

Dynamic economies need low-skilled migration

Migrant workers have been key to the recent success of intensive horticulture and food processing. Without them, many businesses in these sectors would have gone under. It is time the migration debate acknowledged the contribution made by low-skilled migrants.

People in Guildford don’t vote BNP

Yesterday Ed Miliband made another step in reframing Labour’s position on immigration. With Ukip surging in the polls and likely to come first in next year’s European elections, and the media already beginning their racist attacks on Bulgarians and Romanians, Labour has a choice. They can follow the Conservatives in drifting to the right in the hope of choking off Ukip support or they can offer a positive, more progressive alternative that deals with concerns over immigration but in a wider context.