Roundtable event: ‘Build Back Better? Migrants, democratic rights and political participation’

Roundtable event: ‘Build Back Better? Migrants, democratic rights and political participation’

We invite you to attend our next roundtable event, ‘Build Back Better? Migrants, democratic rights and political participation’, from 4pm to 6pm on Tuesday 26 April on Zoom.

Many migrants have been long-term residents in the UK and play active roles in the UK society both nationally and locally. Yet too many migrants are unable to take part and exercise their voice as equal partners in this country in one critical mechanism of the UK’s democracy – voting - including in the forthcoming local elections on 5 May 2022. 

Excitingly, progress has already been made in Wales and Scotland. In February 2020, the Scottish Parliament passed a new law which extends the right to vote in Scottish elections to people who are over 16 and live in Scotland. This includes people with refugee status. Many refugees voted in Scottish Parliamentary Elections on 6 May 2021, and some for the first time. 

Our roundtable event will explore the following questions: what possibilities do “residence-based voting rights” open up for migrants, in our ability to shape our future? Is having British citizenship the only way for migrants to participate in the UK’s political life, or are there other ways too?

We will be joined by:

Lara Parizotto from Our Home Our Vote and the Young Europeans Network, who will speak on the campaign for residence-based voting rights and Savan Qadir from UNESCO Rila and Refugees for Justice, who will speak on the impact of the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Act on refugees.

Join us in this roundtable to discuss with other migrants how we can collectively build back better for a better society for everyone, including migrants.  

If you would like to attend, please email [email protected] to confirm attendance, by sending your name and the name of your organisation (if any) and we will send you a Zoom link.

We look forward to welcoming you to our event.

This event is part of our series of Build Back Better roundtables

If you are eligible to vote, you must register before 14 April. Check here to see if you are eligible to vote: https://www.gov.uk/elections-in-the-uk/local-government