Conservatives and Reform UK are ‘Right-wing wreckers’, says Cooper

Hom Secretary accuses politicians on Right of undermining police with criticism of handling of pro-Palestinian protests and riots

The Conservatives and Reform UK are “Right-wing wreckers” who do not represent British values, the Home Secretary has claimed.
In her speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool, Yvette Cooper accused politicians on the Right of undermining the police with their criticism of officers’ handling of pro-Palestinian protests and the riots over the summer.
Ms Cooper said some had “made excuses for the mob” rather than giving the police their “full-throated backing” in dealing with disorder that she said was nothing to do with protest but was criminality involving arson, thuggery and racism.
The Home Secretary said she was “shocked” by the response from some in “political parties on the Right who once claimed to care about law and order”, adding that “too often we’ve seen them undermine the integrity and authority of the police, even making excuses for the mob”.
She added: “If you remember back in the run-up to Armistice Day last year, disgraceful slurs made against the police – which made it harder for them to do their job – were treated as a sacking offence for a Tory home secretary.
“A year on, those same slurs have become an article of faith for every Tory leadership contender. It is shameful what that party has become. The Tories, with their mates in Reform, are just becoming Right-wing wreckers – undermining respect for the law, trying to fracture the very bonds that keep communities safe. 
“They have nothing to offer but fear, division and anger. But that’s not who we are – that’s not what Britain is about. Our country has always championed respect and the rule of law. That’s what this Labour Party will always stand up for – the party of law and order, now a Government of law and order once more.”
Ms Cooper said the summer’s violence should not “silence a serious debate” on immigration, which she pledged the Labour Government would reduce. Net migration hit a record high of 764,000 in 2022 – treble the level before Brexit – before dropping to 685,000 last year.
Labour has adopted measures announced last year by the Tories to reduce migration by around 300,000, including raising the salary threshold for skilled workers and restricting the number of dependants that care workers and postgraduates can bring into the UK.
“A serious Government sees that net migration has trebled because overseas recruitment has soared while training has been cut right back, and says net migration must come down as we properly train young people here in the UK,” she said.
“A serious Government sees an asylum system in chaos and says we have to clear the backlog and end asylum hotels.”
Ms Cooper highlighted the Government’s work on border security, adding that working with other countries was better than “standing on the shoreline shouting at the sea”.
Elsewhere in her speech, she outlined the Government’s “mission” for safer streets, which includes moves to introduce new powers to respond to anti-social behaviour, shoplifting and off-road bikes, with more neighbourhood police expected in communities.
The Governmenthas pledged to make city and town centre areas “zero-tolerance” zones for anti-social behaviour under plans to crack down on street crime.
Police will be given powers to target persistent offenders with respect orders – a new revamped form of Asbos – that will enable them to be banned city centres if they have been engaging in harassment, intimidating behaviour, drug use, littering and street drinking.
If they try to return to the city or town centres, they will face criminal sanctions ranging from fines to community payback punishments for breaching the order.
Ms Cooper said Labour would treat violence against women and girls as a “national emergency”, adding: “We cannot, and we will not, let the next generation of women and girls face the same violence as the last. Our daughters deserve better than this.”