Jeremy Corbyn has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “political cowardice” after the party said it would continue to temporarily house asylum seekers on barges if it wins the next election.
The former Labour leader described the use of vessels as “morally indefensible”.
The barge is one of a number of alternative sites the Home Office is using to end reliance on expensive hotels for asylum seekers, which the government says is costing the taxpayer £6m a day.
International Trade Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds reiterated Labour’s position this morning, telling Sky News: “We have to address the situation that we inherit, but our policy is to drive the backlog down so we don’t have to use the barges, we don’t have to use the bases, we don’t have to use the hotels.
“It’s not a question of lowering expectations – it’s a question of being open and upfront with the British public about the chaos that we are going to inherit, but also the direction that we then want to go in, which is best for those people trapped in the system but also best value for the taxpayer too.”
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Inside the Bibby Stockholm barge
But Mr Corbyn told Sky News: “Forcing human beings who have escaped war and persecution to live on unsafe and overcrowded prison ships is morally indefensible.
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“So too is the failure to offer a more humane alternative.
“These are human beings who are legally and legitimately exercising their right to asylum. We should be defending, not denigrating, that right.
“Political cowardice has consequences – and vulnerable people will pay the highest price.”
He added: “That’s why I’m proud to stand alongside people in my constituency campaigning for an immigration system based on dignity and care.”
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Labour ‘unhappy’ to inherit asylum barges
There has been considerable local opposition to the Bibby Stockholm due to concerns about the asylum seekers’ welfare and the impact on local services.
Charities have also raised concerns about whether such sites are suitable for those seeking asylum.
Natasha Tsangarides, associate director of advocacy at Freedom from Torture, said: “Cruel accommodation schemes like barges and tents are wholly inappropriate for people who have fled torture and war.”
Sky News has approached the Labour Party for comment on Mr Corbyn’s remarks.
Mr Corbyn spoke as questions remain over his political future and whether he intends to stay on as the MP for Islington North, a constituency he has represented since 1983.
The former leader was suspended from the parliamentary party in October 2020 over his reaction to a damning report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into how antisemitism complaints were handled under his leadership.
Should Mr Corbyn wish to remain as the MP for Islington North he would have to run for another party or as an independent. While he has dropped suggestions that he may do the latter, he has not been explicit about his intentions.
Immediately after the publication of the antisemitism report, Mr Corbyn claimed “the scale of the problem” in Labour was “dramatically overstated for political reasons by our opponents”.
On becoming party leader, Sir Keir promised to “tear out antisemitism” from Labour.
In March he barred Mr Corbyn from standing for Labourat the next election after proposing a successful motion to the party’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee, that it should not endorse his predecessor to fight for his Islington North seat.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.
And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.
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‘PM should have addressed the protesters’
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.
He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.
Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.
“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.
“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”
Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.
But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.
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The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.
The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.
To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.