John McDonnell has claimed that borders between countries will become “irrelevant” by the end of the century, a prediction that has been questioned by his Labour colleague Yvette Cooper.

The shadow chancellor said on Sunday it was inevitable that there would eventually be open borders, warning that people are already “ignoring” boundaries that currently exist.



Cooper, the former shadow home secretary, responded on Twitter by writing that her views were very different, adding that the UK needs checks to aid refugees.

The exchange of views is part of an ongoing tussle within Labour over the best way to tackle the refugee crisis that has engulfed Europe.

On the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme, McDonnell said: “Inevitably in this century we will have open borders.



Yvette Cooper, former shadow home secretary, speaking at a meeting on refugees in London this month. Photograph: Richard Gardner/Rex/Shutterstock

“We are seeing it in Europe already. The movement of peoples across the globe will mean that borders are almost going to become irrelevant by the end of this century so we should be preparing for that and explaining why people move.”

McDonnell was being asked about a speech delivered in 2013 in which he suggested borders could become a thing of the past.

He emphasised the need to deal with the causes of mass migration, which he defined as poverty, conflict and climate change.

“In that way we can deal with the reality of the world which means that people aren’t forced to move but there will be movement,” he said.

When asked whether he believed whether there would one day be totally open borders without controls, he said: “I think at the end of this century, that’s what will occur.

“We are seeing people ignoring borders already as they fly from Syria.”

Cooper tweeted that her views were “v different” from McDonnell’s, adding that Britain needed “checks & sanctuary to manage #refugeecrisis”.

McDonnell responded: “I agree we need checks & sanctuary to manage crisis. Plus we need to address strong evidence of long-term migration patterns.”

Responding to McDonnell’s tweet, Cooper said she disagreed with the the shadow chancellor’s long term forecast that borders will become less important.

“Labour needs to maintain a policy in favour of firm and effective border controls alongside help for refugees,” she said in a statement.

I also disagree with John McDonnell about what will happen in the coming decades. Given the challenges we face, proper border checks are likely to become more important not less in future.”

In an article for Huffington Post earlier this month, Cooper wrote that Britain needed “stronger external and internal border controls and safe, legal routes to apply for sanctuary in Europe to undermine the gangs and illegal routes.



“In particular, there need to be proper, extensive refugee assessments and security checks when people first arrive in Europe so refugees can be helped as quickly as possible and those who have safe homes can be returned,” she said.