Yvette Cooper said disorder and violence should not “silence a serious debate” on immigration, as she also claimed the Conservatives are becoming “right-wing wreckers”.
The Home Secretary condemned recent riots and disorder that broke out in parts of the country following a knife attack at a Southport dance studio on July 29 that left three girls dead.
Ms Cooper labelled the incidents “arson”, “racism” and “thuggery” before saying she was “shocked” by the response from some in “political parties on the right who once claimed to care about law and order”.
Speaking at Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Ms Cooper said she had spoken to children about their experiences when the Spellow Hub library was set on fire during disorder on County Road in the city.
She said: “One told me how scared she was that night, how her mum switched off all the lights in the house, and told her to stay quiet and sit on the stairs as bins were set alight along her street.
“So don’t anyone tell me that was protest. Don’t tell me that was about immigration or policing or poverty.
“Plenty of people have strong views on immigration, on crime, on the NHS and more, but they don’t pick up bricks and throw them at the police. They don’t set light to buildings with people inside.
“It was arson. It was racism. It was thuggery. It was crime.”
Turning to political parties “on the right”, Ms Cooper said they should have given “full-throated backing to our brave” police officers.
She said: “Instead, too often we’ve seen them undermine the integrity and authority of the police, even making excuses for the mob.
“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.
“And nor will we let disorder and violence silence a serious debate on immigration, something that has been missing for too long amid the chaos, the gimmicks and the damaging, ramped-up rhetoric.
“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.
“A serious government sees an asylum system in chaos and says we have to clear the backlog and end asylum hotels.”
Ms Cooper went on: “And a serious government looks at the criminal gangs who are profiting from undermining our border security while women and children are crushed to death in crowded, flimsy, small boats and says the gangs have got away with it for too long – we will not stand for this vile trade in human lives.
“A serious government knows that immigration is important, and that is why it needs to be properly managed and controlled so the system is fair, so rules are properly respected and enforced but we never again see a shameful repeat of the Windrush scandal that let British citizens down.”
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, Ms Cooper outlined the Government’s “mission” for safer streets.
This includes moves to introduce new powers to respond to antisocial behaviour, shoplifting and off-road bikes, with more neighbourhood police expected in communities and a ban on ninja swords.
Ms Cooper also spoke about treating violence against women and girls as a “national emergency”, saying: “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.”
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly said: “As home secretary I took action to reduce knife crime and violence and brought down migration levels. Less talk, more action.
“On the day that the zombie knife ban I brought into law comes into effect, the new Home Secretary can only manage more empty words.
“The Home Secretary talks about the rule of law, but she doesn’t properly back the police to do their jobs.
“She talks about tackling people smuggling gangs, but has scrapped our deterrent.
“She talks about tackling crime but voted against swathes of legislation to do so when she was in opposition.”
