Labour MP Told Democrat Advisers Don't Be Afraid Of Talking About Immigration

The newly-elected Labour MP for Dover and Deal told advisers at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago not to "ignore" concerns about immigration from working class voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Mike Tapp, who was the first Labour candidate to win the coastal seat since 2005, was among a Labour contingent sent to the DNC last week to help provide advice to Democrats seeking to emulate Labour's success in the UK General Election on 4 July.

He told PoliticsHome one of his messages to Democrats at the DNC was to make it clear to "working class voters" that "difficult topics like immigration" were not being neglected. 

"It's what we've done across the UK, but also my seat in Dover and Deal, where that's so important to not ignore that that sort of valid concern," said the Labour MP. 

Tapp, who's constituency has a history of migrants arriving there from across the Channel, said it was important for Democrats to make sure their opponents, who have more hardline views on the topic, are not given free rein to shape the narrative on immigration.  

Republican presidential candidate and former president, Donald Trump, has been fiercely criticised by human rights groups for his inflammatory language about undocumented migrants arriving into the US by irregular routes — having referring to the them as "rapists" and "murderers", and recently claiming they were taking "black jobs".

According to the US department for Homeland Security, Border Patrol recorded 56,408 migrants on the southern border in July, the lowest monthly total since September 2020.

"Secure borders is fundamental to a nation state, but that doesn't mean you attack the people who are looking for a better life, be it refugee — and that need