Jeremy Corbyn's new immigration policies could change Brexit Britain's perspective on immigrants like me

The political establishment would have you believe that immigration is to blame for declining living standards. A £500bn National Investment Bank will constitute the biggest boost in job creation and infrastructure in decades in many communities who voted for Brexit because they believed it

Jeremy Corbyn says the party will unite after the leadership contest (Getty Images)

In the course of the EU referendum campaign, a deep well of poison in this country’s politics rose to the surface. Ideas and attitudes that were previously muttered over a pint were put on billboards. The result has given unprecedented confidence to xenophobes – on street corners and in TV studios alike. As a western European who came here to study, I am far from being the worst affected by Britain’s hardening borders, as anyone trapped in the asylum system can attest.

And yet for me, and for millions of other Europeans who have built a life here, the situation is potentially precarious. There is a genuine danger that we will become pawns in the Brexit negotiations – exchanged for some aspect of a free trade agreement and, ultimately, forced to leave if the deals fall through.

The political establishment has been pushing the narrative that immigration is to blame for declining living standards. Migrants’ rights are now bound up with the fate of progressive politics.

Until recently, there has been no convincing left-wing answer to this. At the last election, Ed Milliband’s Labour produced mugs promising “tougher controls” on immigration. And when politicians stood up for migrants, they did so on terms that resonated with business owners, not people who can’t find housing or jobs. Saying that “immigration benefits the economy” or that the contributions of immigrants should be “celebrated” is true, but insufficient. If we want to win the case for mutual respect, cohesion and freedom of movement, we need to address the deprivation and neglect that have driven so many into the arms of Ukip.

From that perspective, today’s policy announcements from Jeremy Corbyn were significant. Yes, he defended immigrants, promising to give all EU nationals currently in the UK the unconditional right to stay. But it is his wider policies that will really defend us – those that concern jobs, homes and social justice. Because when people who voted Leave say they can’t access basic services, they aren’t making it up.

Today, Corbyn committed to building 1m homes, including 500,000 council houses, and to creating 1m decent jobs. A £500bn National Investment Bank will constitute the biggest boost in job creation and infrastructure in decades in many communities. Public services – starved of capacity by cuts and wasteful privatisation initiatives – will see massive investment, with social care integrated into the NHS and a cradle-to-grave education service that abolishes tuition fees.

I came to Britain in 2011, to study, with no intention of getting involved in politics. I’m now the chair of my university’s Labour Club. I joined Labour to be a part of the movement that formed around Jeremy Corbyn, and like so many young people involved in that movement, I have a real sense of political agency. But unless that sense of agency and hope is shared by people who have been left behind by decades of decline and underinvestment, we will fail and British politics will become a playground for right-wing populists.

Labour is often portrayed as being “weak” on immigration, as avoiding a difficult conversation on the topic. The reality is the precise opposite – because the really difficult conversations around immigration are not about giving ground to the idea that immigrants are to blame, but about recognising the fact that restoring hope and agency to people who have been left behind will require the most radical social programme since the foundation of the welfare state. In today’s speech, Jeremy Corbyn began to put forward those policies.