01Mar 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Ukraine: Government still failing to offer fast and simple refugee scheme

Ukraine: Government still failing to offer fast and simple refugee scheme

Parliamentary news
Responding to the Home Secretary’s announcement of an expanded family visa scheme and humanitarian sponsorship pathway for people fleeing Ukraine, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “It is shameful that we are having to drag the Government inch by inch towards making a real commitment to the Ukrainians now fleeing Putin’s war machine. https://twitter.com/PoliticsJOE_UK/status/1498697473216421893?t=6acW4VZPKIo1j8Jmd0Gf9Q&s=08 “Even as the Russian missiles rain down and a huge convoy advances on Kyiv, the Home Secretary is still refusing to open a fast and simple refugee scheme for Ukrainian refugees. Worse, she is pressing ahead with her Anti-Refugee Bill that would criminalise any Ukrainians who come here to seek asylum. “The Government should withdraw that Bill, and immediately establish a fast, safe route for Ukrainian refugees to come to the UK. “Our…
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28Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Ukranian Refugees: Govt plans are ”woefully inadequate”

Ukranian Refugees: Govt plans are ”woefully inadequate”

Parliamentary news
Responding to Boris Johnson's announcement that Ukrainian refugees can come to the UK without a visa if they already have family here, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: "This move falls way short of what is needed and will not help the vast majority of those currently fleeing war in Ukraine. "It is a woefully inadequate response to the terrible human tragedy we are seeing unfold. "Boris Johnson needs to follow the lead of our European neighbours and set up a simple, rapid scheme to resettle Ukrainian refugees in the UK. "Anything less would be a failure of moral leadership and leave thousands at risk." Meanwhile, after Home Office Minister Kevin Foster said that Ukrainians fleeing the war should apply for seasonal worker visas, Carmichael added: “Ukrainians…
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25Feb 2022 by Sam Al-Hamdani
UK must step up with humanitarian response to stop Putin destabilising Europe

UK must step up with humanitarian response to stop Putin destabilising Europe

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling for the UK to lead a coordinated humanitarian response to Putin’s war in Ukraine, with safe passage and support for Ukrainian refugees fleeing violence and persecution at the hands of Russian forces. The party’s MPs have written to the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary, urging them to work with humanitarian agencies and Ukraine’s neighbours to provide accommodation and support to the people now fleeing Russian troops, who are now advancing on the capital of Kyiv. It comes in the wake of the news that visa applications from those Ukrainian nationals without close British relatives and who are stuck in the country are suspended, meaning no legal route exists for them to enter the UK and claim asylum. The letter calls for “an ambitious commitment…
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16Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Priti Patel failing on legal routes for refugees

Priti Patel failing on legal routes for refugees

Parliamentary news
As Refugee Week begins, the Liberal Democrats have tabled a motion in Parliament calling on the Government to establish safe and legal routes for refugees to come to the UK. The motion, tabled by the party’s Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP, calls on the Government to resettle 10,000 refugees each year, as well as a further 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children from elsewhere in Europe over the next 10 years. It follows Home Office data showing that just 353 refugees were brought to the UK last year, compared with 4,968 the year before. Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need, but now the Conservative Government is turning its back on refugees. “Priti Patel is threatening…
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24Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Asylum changes: Breaking law a nasty habit for this Tory Government

Asylum changes: Breaking law a nasty habit for this Tory Government

Parliamentary news
In response to the "New Plan for Immigration" being set out by the Home Office today, Liberal Democrats Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: “Priti Patel’s proposals aren’t just cruel, they undermine the UK’s commitments under the Refugee Convention. Breaking international law is becoming a nasty habit for this Conservative Government. “People fleeing war and persecution – as the vast majority of those claiming asylum in the UK have – don’t stop to check if their travel plans are OK with the Home Secretary. And nor should they have to. They must be welcomed with compassion, not treated like criminals. “Nothing Priti Patel is proposing today will solve the dysfunction at the heart of the Home Office. It won’t deliver dignity for asylum seekers or fairness for taxpayers. “Instead…
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23Mar 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Government must commit to 10k refugees a year, Lib Dems say

Government must commit to 10k refugees a year, Lib Dems say

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrats marked the conclusion of their 2021 Spring Conference by calling on the Government to make a fully-funded commitment to resettle 10,000 refugees a year, in addition to 10,000 child refugees over the next ten years. It comes after weeks of intense scrutiny for the Home Office. An outbreak of COVID-19 at the Napier Barracks accommodation that was deemed ‘unfit for habitation’ by inspectors was shortly followed by the closure of similar accommodation at Penally Barracks. Plans then emerged that asylum seekers may be sent to a third country whilst processing their claim. Immigration Statistics for 2020 show that 823 refugees resettled in the UK last year - representing a fall from 5,612 in 2019. A further 7,546 people were granted asylum in 2020, which is a decline from…
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11Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Changes to the Immigration Rules another breach of international law

Parliamentary news
Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael has slammed the Government’s latest changes to the Immigration Rules as “against everything the UK stands for” and “yet another breach of international law”. The changes, which will allow the Home Office to reject asylum applications if the person has passed through another “safe” country on their way to the UK. Alistair Carmichael said: “The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need, but now the Conservative Government is turning its back on refugees. “This latest nasty policy from Priti Patel goes against our commitments under the Refugee Convention and against everything the UK stands for. It’s yet another breach of international law by this irresponsible Tory Government. “Everyone wants to stop people making dangerous attempts to cross the…
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16Jun 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Lib Dems call on PM “not to turn your back” on child refugees

Parliamentary news
The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to commit to resettling 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children from elsewhere in Europe over the next ten years, following the closure of the Dubs scheme last month. Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine warned child refugees who have been “forced to flee their homes and separated from their families” and is urging the Government to “do all we can to protect them.” In a letter to the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary, over 40 Liberal Democrat parliamentarians call on the Government to reverse its position in the Brexit negotiations not to seek to maintain the current arrangements to reunite unaccompanied asylum-seeking children with their family members. The Dubs scheme, closed by the Government last month, resettled 480 unaccompanied refugee children despite…
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21Jun 2017 by Saddleworth Lib Dems
Garth Harkness writes to Manchester Mayor

Garth Harkness writes to Manchester Mayor

Borough news, Saddleworth News
Liberal Democrat Councillor Garth Harkness wrote the following letter to Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham: Congratulations on being elected Greater Manchester’s first Mayor. I am sure you are aware that this week is Refugee Week. On behalf of the Oldham Council Liberal Democrat Group, I would like to raise with you the issue of the support we offer in Greater Manchester to refugees seeking employment and how we could enhance it. As you will be aware, refugees are former asylum seekers whose claims to remain and work in the UK have been allowed by the Home Office. Refugees in Greater Manchester want to work, but experience unemployment on a scale hugely disproportionate to the wider population. According to research published by the Manchester Refugee Employment Partnership in 2013, at that…
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