Since our launch back in 2008, Bradford City of Sanctuary (BCoS) has been part of the rapidly growing national CoS movement. Our vision is to stimulate a culture of welcome and inclusion in the city for asylum seekers and refugees. We aim to build understanding and support, as well as promote opportunities for employment, volunteering […]
Archive | Activism & Campaigning
Leeds Council’s decision to become a Council of Sanctuary – and update April 24
We’ve reported on this a few times – and you may consider this old news – but now that all of this has been signed off and the political process is over, the real work begins. Here’s the document presented to the Exec Board of the council which outlined what a Council of Sanctuary is […]
Update from Asylum matters and NACCOM – briefing for Local Authoritiesm, April 24
By Jon from LASSN on 19th April 2024 in Activism & Campaigning, Destitution & Housing, Policy & Research
The Illegal Migration Act has barely been enacted, yet. This excellent briefing from Asylum Matters and NACCOM is aimed at Local Authorities, but it’s an excellent statement of where we’re at, and what we still need to prepare for. (Unless we can persuade our politicians to change the law. It’s happened before.)
Asylum Matters, Advocacy and Campagning Update – April 19th 2024
Advocacy and campaigning initiatives Rwanda The Safety of Rwanda Bill has been back in Parliament this week. With the Bill being debated twice in the Lords and the Commons. The Lords amendments have now been reduced to two; one exempting people that have served alongside UK Military from removal to Rwanda, and one requiring a […]
Great resource to help encourage courageous conversations about refugee rights
City of Sanctuary have put together a great resource, ‘10 Tips to have Courageous Conversations‘, really thoughtful and practical suggestions regarding how to respond to challenging comments that you might hear. They also have a “Speak up for Sanctuary” webinar and handbook that teach you how to counter hostile rhetoric, how to engage with MP’s, […]
Associate Organiser Migrant & Refugee Organising (MaRO): West Yorkshire: 37.5 hrs/wk £29k – Citizens UK – deadline 26th April 24
Associate Organiser – West Yorkshire Employment Type: Full time 37.5 hours per week/ 24-month fix term contract Location: Hybrid · Leeds, UK Salary: Starting from £29,071 (GBP) Closing date: 10:00am, 26 April 2024 BST Citizens UK We are Citizens UK. We’re working together to make change on the issues that matter, from campaigning for zebra […]
Asylum matters Y&H update – 28th March 2024
Advocacy and campaigning initiatives Rwanda Last week, the Government suffered a further seven defeats in the House of Lords as peers voted in favour of seven amendments to the Safety of Rwanda Bill. Amendments included excluding victims of modern slavery from deportation to Rwanda, and permitting ministers or immigration officials to have the power to […]
Can refugees and migrants vote in UK elections 2024?
Here’s a previous article from 2017 which explains that having leave to remain does not automatically give someone the right to vote in UK General Elections, no matter how long they’ve been in the UK*. For an explanation of who can vote in UK elections (and in particular changes to voting rights of EU Citizens […]
CALL OUT! Experiences of poor legal advice – March 24
Migrants Organise, Refugee Action, NACCOM, HMSC have been planning a report looking at the barriers to accessing / providing good quality (immigration) legal aid representation – we’ve spoken to many of you about this already and received some really helpful feedback on the plan, so a big thanks for that. The report will be based on interviews […]
Asylum Matters Y&H update 14th March 2024
Asylum Matters staff update: We said a fond farewell to our Director Paul Hook last week, Paul led the work of Asylum Matters through a time of significant challenges to the fundamental right to seek asylum, mobilising the Lift the Ban Campaign, Communities Not Camps and continuing to campaign against asylum poverty. We’ll miss him […]
Asylum Matters: General Election Campaign Resources March 2024
Asylum Matters present these new General Election resources as part of the Fight the Anti-Refugee Laws campaign. The resources are designed to support local groups in engaging with their prospective parliamentary candidates, calling on them to repeal the #AntiRefugeeLaws and commit to building an asylum system that treats everyone with compassion and dignity. The resources […]
Asylum Statistics, March 24 – House of Commons Library research briefing
Here’s a comprehensive digest of the reported numbers of people seeking refuge in the UK. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01403/ It’s a really good and accessible guide btw, and there’s a helpful summary on the front page if the full 36 page report feels a bit daunting. Importantly, the numbers and stats in these briefings (prepared by Civil Servants) […]