Controlled immigration was once a left-wing cause. It was a basic tenet of trade unionism – not to mention economics – that the number of workers in a labour market dictates the rate of pay. When more and more people compete for the same jobs, employers can cut wages.

Those who care about profits rather than wages tend to be in favour of more migration. The capitalist will always dream of importing huge numbers of workers from countries with much lower wages, knowing they can be used to drive down rates of pay and improve profits. The rules of labour supply and demand remain just as true today, but it is no longer a prominent part of Labour thinking. Immigration control is seen as a right-wing cultural issue, and the common-sense, left-wing economic case for controlled immigration mostly goes unmade.

The debate over social care staffing illustrates this point. Whenever it is suggested that perhaps our extraordinary levels of immigration should be curbed, even moderately, the response is one of indignation from the liberal establishment. ‘British people don’t want to be care workers,’ they cry.

The underlying logic here is very revealing. Many........

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