This is why immigration is likely to go up under Labour

Over the weekend shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said she expects net migration to fall “swiftly” under a Labour government, but stopped short of setting a target.

No shock there. With a Conservative Party having not only broken its election pledge over immigration but having whacked the immigration rate up to levels way in excess of anything seen under Tony Blair, why would Labour drastically cut the numbers?

More likely than not this is electioneering for Middle England, attempting to win over the Tory Shires while planning to keep immigration elevated as a backdoor means of beefing up economic growth on the cheap.

Sure, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has committed to ban law-breaking employers from hiring foreign workers, with Labour also floating the idea that businesses which apply for worker visas must train British people to do the jobs.

All good stuff in theory and frankly the Conservatives have lost all credibility on this issue, even among their own supporters.

But let's get real here, why would Labour cut the numbers when high immigration is in the party's DNA, its support is primarily centred in Britain's multi-ethnic and urban communities, and when high immigration is about the only weapon the party has to achieve its goal of boosting economic growth?

And here's the kicker! Just as Labour is likely to shift Britain to the Left, our neighbours in Europe are moving to the Right. In upcoming elections to the European Parliament, Eurosceptic and anti-immigration parties and groups are set to perform better than ever.

This comes as the Netherlands forms a new government with Hard-Right Geert Wilders' party in the team, while nationalist Georgia Meloni rides high in Italy, and Marine Le Pen's National Rally goes from strength to strength in France.

Even in Poland, Donald Tusk - the EU's blue-eyed boy - has found himself having to accommodate his country's hard-line views on immigration. This is before we get to the electoral success of Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Slovakia's Robert Fico.

Lest we forget, the US could also be about to elect Donald Trump for a second time, with all that could entail!

If Western Europe begins to shut its doors (multicultural France already has a legal migration rate far below that of Britain's) then what is the betting that even more immigrants begin to see Blighty as the best (if not the only) option on the table?

With Labour ending the Rwanda scheme - gimmick though it is - what is the betting that small boat crossings increase further as the appetite for mass immigration recedes even further in mainland Europe?

For all the reasons above, it seems extraordinarily unlikely that the UK's immigration rate is going to reduce dramatically. Having set a high benchmark, the Conservatives have afforded Labour the chance to shave off a few percentage points while still keeping the door wide open, with Britain's openness contrasting with an increasingly closed-off Europe.

There is nothing enlightened about all this. An open door to illegal immigration greenlights people trafficking and exploitation, while an open door to legal immigration offers an excuse for gangster politicians in developing countries to continue their corrupt practices, safe in the knowledge that countries like Britain will take in those forcibly displaced.

All this talk about the Right re-grouping after election day better be right because, frankly, after five years of a Labour government - let alone ten - it could well be too late to course correct Britain at all.