Today's Update By The Waugh Zone Is Titled `EURO FUNNEL'

* Paul Waugh

by Paul Waugh | Labour Politics

Corbyn’s distinctive ‘street campaigner’ approach to the Labour leadership saw him visit two refugee camps in France this weekend.

He wants the UK to follow Germany’s lead and take more refugees, declaring of the camps near Dunkirk and Calais: “We’re talking 3,000 people. It’s not very many.” (Note that Tim Farron however has got more political payback by realising Cameron was willing to take refugee children, and the campaign to get 3,000 more in the UK looks like it could be successful).

Frank Field warned Corbyn was in touch on ‘economic injustices’ but walking in the opposite direction on migration. On Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, shadow immigration minister Keir Starmer said he agreed with Corbyn there was ‘much to celebrate’ about immigration “but equally when other people are concerned around the country about the impact in their area, we have to listen, we can’t just say this is a no-go area”.

David Cameron’s nightmare is that the EU referendum becomes a vote not about Europe but about migration and borders. It’s a big worry for the In campaign too, which today focuses instead on the threat to jobs if the single market is lost to the UK. Lord Rose was on the Today prog pushing the case, and he has the backing of Britain’s Brompton bicycles boss too.

* Labour Leader, Jeremy Corbyn emerges from a tent in a refugee
camp in France at the Weekend. (Credit: via The Waugh Zone) 

Rose told Today: “Migration is one of the great things happening in the world today. [I don’t think he meant ‘great’ as in wonderful’ but as in ‘big’].” The M&S boss got off to a bad start by refusing questions from the media at the In campaign launch, and he’s finding it’s tough being a politician.

The FT splashes on bosses of Big Pharma US firms Eli Lilly and Merck (as well as the UK’s GSK) warning that Brexit would be ‘a shame and a mistake’. But note that the Eli Lilly boss John Lechleiter also said ‘from a business point of view, we can live with it’. Meanwhile, the think-tank Open Europe is hosting ‘war games’ scenarios today to test possible outcomes of the UK's European renegotiation or a Brexit situation.

* Paul Waugh is the Executive Editor, Politics, HuffPost UK.