RECOVERING from the result of the EU referendum has not been easy. Labour locally campaigned hard against leaving the EU. We had street stalls, open meetings, leaflet drops and spent many hours talking to people on the streets in Marlborough and Devizes.
The lies, now being exposed, by the leave campaign swayed many more people than we did.
One of the biggest lies perpetuated throughout the campaign was “All the ills of society are the fault of immigration”. We know that is not true. Immigrants staff our hospitals, teach our kids and contribute to our prosperity. The rise in hate crimes that followed the referendum shocked and appalled many of us. We have got to stop this.
Immigration is not the reason we have badly funded health services, unaffordable housing, deteriorating social care. It is not the reason we lost out Sure Start centres. It is not the reason the hostel for homeless people has closed in Marlborough and it is not the reason our libraries and parks are under threat.
The failed anti-austerity programmes of 10 years of Tory government has stripped our country of many of the things that give us all security. 
It is easy to point the finger and find someone to blame for all of this. In the past we have blamed the Irish, the West Indians, the people from Pakistan. Now it’s the newcomers from Europe. We have got to stop this.
Jeremy Corbyn has promised he will not put a false cap on immigration because he knows that this will not work. The Tories have tried it and it has failed. Labour will not oppose free movement of people in Europe because we know immigration is necessary and good for our country. We need a government that will tackle the underlying problems in our economy and reinvest in the infrastructure of our society.
SYLVIA CARD
Chairman, Devizes Constituency Labour Party