Labour pledge tougher line on immigration in sop to Ukippers

Labour have come up with a last-minute plan to persuade wavering supporters in Rochester and Strood that it takes their concerns over immigration seriously.

As Ukip looks set to win this Thursday’s by-election comfortably, Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, will announce today that Labour would recruit an extra 1,000 border and immigration staff, to be paid for by a £10 levy on millions of tourists.

Cooper will argue in today’s speech that tougher checks at ports and airports are essential to rebuild faith in the immigration system, The Independent reports.

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The £45 million recruitment bill for raising the total number of immigration staff from 7,000 to 8,000 will be met by a £10 charge for travellers from countries with which the UK has an electronic visa-waiver agreement, such as the US, New Zealand, Australia and the Gulf states.

• Don Brind: Will Ukip’s Reckless prove a one-hit wonder?

Cooper’s proposal has Labour following a middle course on the immigration issue: she will accuse the Conservatives and Ukip of stooping to an "arms race of rhetoric", which exploits fears and fosters conflict in communities, but will attack liberal commentators and business leaders for dismissing public concern as irrational.

Although a Ukip victory in Rochester and Strood will be seen mainly as a blow to David Cameron - because the Ukip candidate, Mark Reckless, was a Tory MP until his defection - the seat has a strong Labour past.

Until 2010, this area of Kent was represented for 13 years by the ebullient Bob Marshall Andrews, the former Labour MP for Medway.

But if Labour’s announcement is seen as desperate, it’s not half as desperate as they’re getting in the Tory camp. They’ve been reduced to arguing that a vote for Ukip could cut the value of housing in the area.

"The danger is if you vote Ukip, the value of your house will go down," said Charles Walker, visiting Rochester yesterday from his Hertfordshire constituency of Broxbourne.

This may not be as barmy as it sounds. The Daily Telegraph reports Conservative strategists have noted how house prices stagnated in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham after the BNP won swathes of council seats in 2006 and middle-class families moved out, while values in surrounding areas surged.

Perhaps Sir Christopher Meyer, former ambassador to Washington, and Myleene Klass, the one-time Hear’Say singer, should consider moving to Rochester in the event of a Ukip victory.

They both clashed with Ed Miliband over the Mansion Tax on ITV’s The Agenda last night, Meyer telling the Labour leader: “You’re going to screw me royally” and Klass holding up her water glass and saying: “You might as well tax this... You can’t just point at things and then tax them.”

The Mole's advice: move to Rochester, take advantage of the collapsing house prices and avoid the Mansion Tax. Simple.