On International Migrants Day, December 18, Migrant Voice is calling on British media to listen to migrant voices. On this day, we celebrate the contribution of migrants globally and in the UK; but to celebrate migrants, you must first hear our stories. Thirteen per cent of the UK’s population is foreign born, forming almost 16…
It’s a common criticism of politics that there is a style of debate whereby reports on key issues are produced, covered on the news for a day, and then sink without trace. The criticism rings true of the response to Louise Casey CB’s controversial report into integration. Since its release a year ago, almost nothing…
This week, a Syrian boy arrived in Hammersmith and Fulham - the first refugee to be brought to the borough from the camps in Greece. The Home Office identified him as extremely vulnerable fourteen months ago. They agreed he was eligible to come to the UK under their very limited refugee protection scheme. Two months later a…
Professional confidentiality is an essential component of our lives – it’s what enables us to feel secure with a doctor, a teacher or anyone else we may divulge personal details to. But in the newest offensive against migrants, that principle is at risk. The government’s plan to create a “hostile environment” for people who are…
Two years ago, a news investigation found abuse and violence perpretrated by staff against women at the Yarl’s Wood detention centre. And an independent report found Yarl’s Wood was holding vulnerable women for long periods in conditions causing serious distress and worsening mental health problems. This week a campaign led by Women for Refugee Women…
On the day it comes into force, the new NHS identity check system is already unravelling. A former NHS chief executive and hundreds of medical professionals have pleaded with the government to change course, and new research suggests pregnant and seriously ill migrants are already going without medical care due to fear of the new…
Austria’s recent election results show that we all need to do more to win the argument for the benefits of refugee protection and a compassionate, common-sense approach to migration. The Austrian People’s Party (OVP), and the smaller and further-right Freedom Party (FPO), have worked in coalition government before to oversee a drop of over half…
Party conference season is usually an opportunity for political parties to step away from Parliament, debate the future and present the guiding principles of their plans for the future. There is much to discuss and digest from the season – but very little on migration, despite the combination of Brexit, the Europewide refugee situation, and…
The newly leaked immigration policy paper is a disaster waiting to happen. The paper outlines an approach that has been called a “Britain first” approach but it is nothing of the sort; driving down standards for foreign residents is not the same as improving standards for citizens. For instance, a spousal income threshold…
The weather in Lesvos is improving, the sea is calmer and clearer, and so the number of migrants making the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe is increasing. So are the deaths. So far 2,365 people have perished since January this year. Here we go again. With no let-up in the Syrian war; and fighting, human…
