In April 2022, the Nationality and Borders Bill passed in the UK Parliament, turning the anti-refugee Bill into the anti-refugee laws. In response, hundreds of organisations and dozens of MPs have pledged to fight these anti-refugee laws, committing to defend the right to seek safety from war and persecution.
Now, as these laws are implemented and begin to impact our communities, Local Authorities have a vital role to play in continuing to demonstrate local and regional opposition to these cruel measures and joining the fight to repeal the anti-refugee laws.
Our friends at Aylum Matters have created a number of new resources to support you in calling on your Local Authority leaders to stand with their communities and pledge to fight the anti-refugee laws.
The resources include:
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- A guide to the resources, including tips for passing a motion and a comms checklist;
- A template motion through which LAs can commit to sign the Fight the #AntiRefugeeLaws pledge; call on the Government to repeal the anti-refugee laws; work with local groups and people with lived experience of the asylum system to identify ways to mitigate the impact of the anti-refugee laws; and commit to becoming a Council of Sanctuary;
- A template press release to help you spread the word if your motion passes;
- Social media assets and template posts which we can customise for your specific area.
You also can find out more about the pledge and the campaign to fight the #AntiRefugeeLaws here.
Asylum Matters are also holding an online event on Tuesday 18th October at 1pm to come together to discuss the resources and share ideas, experiences and good practice in engaging with Local Authorities. You can register for the event here.
If you have any questions or feedback about these resources – or if you use them to approach your Local Authority – please let Asylum Matters know! You can contact them at [email protected].