Banksy Clacton-on-Sea mural, photographed by Duncan Hull/Flickr. Creative Commons.
Last week saw the line-by-line scrutiny of the government’s Immigration Bill draw to a close. With the ink barely dry on what the government had presented as its flagship stand against severe exploitation—the Modern Slavery Act—the change in approach couldn’t be starker. I have sat on the committee charged with scrutinising the Immigration Bill over the past five weeks, and during that time it has become painfully apparent to me that ‘the nasty party’ is back.
Home Secretary Theresa May described the 2015 Modern Slavery Act earlier this year as a piece of legislation that “says to victims, you are not alone—we are here to help you”. Yet, Prime Minister David Cameron’s speech announcing the Immigration Bill struck a distinctly different tone, promising instead to tackle immigration abuses that damage the UK labour market and to punish undocumented workers.
