Editorial: Glasgow leads way on…

Editorials

Editorial: Glasgow leads way on 'right to work'

Glasgow could become the first UK city to allow all asylum seekers to work, six months after they submit their claim, following a report published on 5 March. We’re delighted that this diverse and progressive city – home to one of MV’s migrant network hubs – is paving the way to a humane and practical policy on this issue that’s fit for the 21st century. Migrant Voice urges the Home Office to accept the recommendations provided by the Scottish Refugee Council, the Scottish government, Glasgow City Council and others in…

Glasgow could become the first UK city to allow all asylum seekers to work, six months after they submit their claim, following a report published on 5 March. We’re delighted…

Editorial: Priced out of Britain

High visa costs are putting undue burdens on families in our communities and pricing people out of their rights – and it’s high time the UK government reduced them. While we at Migrant Voice welcome the announcement from the government to scrap the £65 fee for EU nationals applying for settled status, we are concerned by the high – and rising – costs for all other immigration-related applications. An independent inquiry into Home Office fees was launched last June after campaigners called for urgent action to reduce the costs. But…

High visa costs are putting undue burdens on families in our communities and pricing people out of their rights – and it’s high time the UK government reduced them. While…

Editorial: A return to exile

By attempting to strip a British woman of her citizenship, the Home Secretary has shone a spotlight on a cruel, outdated and extremely troubling UK law. It’s a racist law that leaves anyone who became British by being naturalised, or who was born British but has a second nationality, vulnerable to being stripped of that citizenship at the whim of the Home Secretary, vulnerable to being exiled. It’s a law that must be revoked. The 19-year-old Shamima Begum, who left the UK aged 15 to travel to Syria, should be…

By attempting to strip a British woman of her citizenship, the Home Secretary has shone a spotlight on a cruel, outdated and extremely troubling UK law. It’s a racist law…

Editorial: Complying with hostility

“Britain, at its best, is open, welcoming and tolerant.” That's what the Home Secretary said in his conference speech in October 2018. And we would agree with him. But this last week, we have not seen Britain at its best - and it’s because of policies designed and perpetuated by the Home Secretary's department. On Monday, MPs and campaigners heard from EU nationals angry about the settled status application process and fearful about their future in the UK. “We are being herded, registered, labeled, shoved into an arbitrary, error-prone system,”…

“Britain, at its best, is open, welcoming and tolerant.” That's what the Home Secretary said in his conference speech in October 2018. And we would agree with him. But this…

Editorial: Nine years of Migrant Voice

Nine years ago, the UK was facing a general election dominated by the issue of immigration, but with barely any migrant voices to be heard. At the same time, a new movement was starting – first in ad hoc meetings in cafes across London, then eventually with an office, a name and a website. And so Migrant Voice was born. The goal? To empower migrants to speak out and be heard. And since Migrant Voice was (and still is) migrant led, the motto became, “Speaking for ourselves”. Nine years on…

Nine years ago, the UK was facing a general election dominated by the issue of immigration, but with barely any migrant voices to be heard. At the same time, a…

Editorial: The 'safe country' delusion

The government’s reaction to a handful of migrants arriving on the UK’s southern shores over the festive period has revealed, once again, that the UK and EU asylum systems are out of touch with the reality of how and why people are moving. While we were pleased to hear that the Home Secretary had decided to send rescue boats to the Channel (progress from a few weeks ago), his presumptuous claim that the people crossing may not be “genuine” refugees and suggestion that their asylum applications could be refused to…

The government’s reaction to a handful of migrants arriving on the UK’s southern shores over the festive period has revealed, once again, that the UK and EU asylum systems are…

Editorial: A not so happy new year

As most of us are excitedly counting down the days to Christmas and the New Year, it’s a countdown with little joy for thousands of international students wrongly accused of cheating on an English language test in 2014. For many of them, the arrival of 2019 only means one, devastating thing: five years living in limbo; five years without the right to study, work, rent a house or drive a car; five years without seeing their families back home; five years of hopeless court battles in a desperate bid to…

As most of us are excitedly counting down the days to Christmas and the New Year, it’s a countdown with little joy for thousands of international students wrongly accused of…

Editorial: A call to global action

Marrakesh is known mainly for its bustling markets, exquisite palaces and enchanting gardens. But from 4 to 11 December, the Moroccan city is playing host to the Global Forum on Migration and Development, an annual event that brings together hundreds of civil society organisations and government representatives to talk about the opportunities and challenges of migration. This year’s theme is ‘Goals, compacts, action: human mobility that works for migrants and society’ (#ForMigration). Migrant Voice is delighted to be represented at the forum by our director, Nazek Ramadan, who is…

Marrakesh is known mainly for its bustling markets, exquisite palaces and enchanting gardens. But from 4 to 11 December, the Moroccan city is playing host to the Global Forum…

Editorial: Safe routes for Channel migrants

It’s pitch black, cold, raining. A small dinghy is being tossed around by the waves. Inside the boat are two families. One of the children is just a toddler – a dark-haired girl wearing a purple coat under her fluorescent orange life jacket. This isn’t the Mediterranean; it’s the English Channel. When the boats were crossing and the bodies washing up 1500 miles away, our politicians could turn a blind eye. That’s no longer the case. We have called many times before for safe, legal routes for people who…

It’s pitch black, cold, raining. A small dinghy is being tossed around by the waves. Inside the boat are two families. One of the children is just a toddler…

Editorial: Dealing with uncertainty

“We’ve got a deal!” the politicians cried. But there was little relief for the 3.6 million EU nationals in the UK. The several dozen pages in the draft withdrawal agreement referring to the rights of those EU nationals contain some troubling details. EU nationals who don’t have a job will have to prove they have Comprehensive Sickness Insurance (CSI) – a kind of private health insurance that most people had never heard of before last year – and those who can’t prove they have been exercising treaty rights –…

“We’ve got a deal!” the politicians cried. But there was little relief for the 3.6 million EU nationals in the UK. The several dozen pages in the draft withdrawal…

Editorial: Glasgow leads way on 'right to work'

Editorials