2019 Election Questions
We asked the four candidates for Cheltenham their views on refugees and people seeking asylum, and have combined them with party manifesto information to give a full view of party and candidate policy.
Conservatives - Alex Chalk
Manifesto Policy
We will continue to grant asylum and support to refugees fleeing persecution, with the ultimate aim of helping them to return home if it is safe to do so.
Alex’s response to CWR’s questions
Many thanks for your email. And may I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees, which I know from my own experience as MP continues to do very important work to support refugees in our town. It is hugely appreciated - both by the Syrian refugee families you refer to themselves, and our wider Cheltenham community who want to see vulnerable people treated with humanity and justice.
I re-adopt the remarks I made in response to your questions in the previous election, and would wish to add the following. What I have set out below are my own thoughts, and not centrally produced text.
The United Kingdom has a proud history of offering sanctuary to those fleeing persecution. It is part of the moral fabric of this nation, and I passionately believe this principle must be preserved and underscored. I have also campaigned for the introduction of time limits on immigration detention - which in any event must only be used in exceptionally rare circumstances.
I fully appreciate that those in the asylum process may be under severe emotional pressure, which is why I believe the Home Office should always provide relevant information to asylum claimants throughout the process, including signposting to any support they may require. All asylum claimants are provided with information about what to expect at the asylum interview, the possible outcomes of the asylum claim, how to obtain legal advice to support their claim, details of support organisations that might be relevant, rights and responsibilities of asylum seekers, and information about asylum support and how to apply. That is as it should be.
As you know I have been a loud voice in Parliament on asylum and immigration issues, for example expressing what I saw as the "national shame" of the Windrush scandal. As I made plain in the House of Commons, the people who answered the call of the ‘mother country’ and came to our shores are British. They are here legally. They are part of the warp and weft of this nation, and have contributed so much to our economic, cultural and sporting life. That’s why it was so upsetting to see them caught up in a wider drive to remove illegal migrants.
Alex’s previous remarks from 2017 can be found here.
Liberal Democrats - Max Wilkinson
Manifesto Policy
Dignity for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
We must do all we can to protect people forced to flee their homes to escape war and persecution.
The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need, but Labour and Conservative governments have introduced a harsh system that fails to respect people’s dignity. Thousands of asylum seekers are forced to wait many months for a decision, unable to work, rent a home or support their families. Too many people are wrongly denied asylum, with 40 per cent of refusals overturned on appeal.
Liberal Democrats are the only party who can make the system work fairly for seekers of sanctuary.
We will:
- Give asylum seekers the right to work three months after they have applied, enabling them to work in any role so that they can support themselves, integrate into their communities and contribute through taxation.
- Provide safe and legal routes to sanctuary in the UK by resettling 10,000 vulnerable refugees each year and a further 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children from elsewhere in Europe over the next ten years, and expanding family reunion rights.
- Fund community-sponsorship projects for refugees, and reward community groups who develop innovative and successful ways of promoting social cohesion.
- Offer asylum to people fleeing the risk of violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identification, end the culture of disbelief for LGBT+ asylum seekers and never refuse an LGBT+ applicant on the basis that they could be discreet.
- Move asylum policymaking from the Home Office to the Department for International Development and establish a dedicated unit to improve the speed and quality of decision-making.
- Provide free basic English lessons to refugees and asylum seekers and scrap the 16 hours-per-week rule with respect to financial support for those unable to work due to insufficient English.
- Provide public health services, including maternity services, to people from the moment they arrive in the UK.
Increase the ‘move-on period’ for refugees from 28 days to 60 days.
Labour - George Penny
Manifesto Policy
Refugees are victims of wars, environmental catastrophes, famine or persecution.
This government has failed its international legal obligations to refugees and to allow people to exercise their rights to seek asylum.
A Labour government will uphold those rights and meet those obligations. We will work with others to resume rescue missions in the Mediterranean, co-operate with the French authorities to put an end to the horrific camps, and establish safe and legal routes for asylum seekers.
Once here, refugees will have the right to work, access to public services and will be treated humanely by government at all levels.
George’s response to CWR’s questions
Question 1: Your overall approach
Q1: Please set out what you consider the Government’s overall approach should be towards those who wish to come to the UK either as refugees of as people seeking asylum.
I believe the UK Government should adopt a policy of openness towards those seeking to come to this country either as refugees or people seeking asylum. We are a wealthy nation, and one which has on several occasions engaged in military action which has led to people becoming refugees. We therefore have specific moral responsibilities to provide a safe place for refugees and people seeking asylum, responsibilities which are best served by adopting an approach whereby the welcoming of refugees and people seeking asylum is the focus. As we move further into the 21st century, it is likely that the consequences of the climate crisis will result in far larger numbers of refugees in need of a safe place to live, and our country must proactively work to prepare for this, so we may meet our responsibilities and provide for these people.
Question 2: Government’s resettlement programme
The current Vulnerable Persons' Resettlement Scheme under which the 30 Syrian families came to live in Cheltenham ends in 2020. After that we do not know what will happen or how many people – if any - will be allowed into the UK.
Q2a: Given the scale of the refugee crisis, do you believe that the UK’s response to date has been be adequate?
I do not. Given the responsibilities and capabilities of the UK to respond to this crisis, more ought to have been done both to resettle vulnerable persons and support them after their arrival in the UK. I believe more people could have been accepted under this scheme, and that additional funding should have been assigned to allow local authorities to more extensively support persons resettled under the scheme with training and education.
The Refugee Council is asking for a consolidated programme to resettle refugees from all regions, post-2020 and for the UK Government to commit to accepting 1,000 refugees every year on an on-going basis.
Q2b: Do you support these demands?
I do support these requests. I am of the view that only a consolidated programme is capable of responding to the issue appropriately, and that such a programme ought to be consolidated both at national level and with our international partners to ensure we are doing all we can for refugees. I further believe that the UK Government has a clear moral responsibility as an advanced economy to support those most in need, so ought to accept at least 1,000 refugees every year.
Q2c: What more, if anything, should the UK be doing at a national or international level towards helping refugees?
The UK must fully engage with other nations both within and without the EU to ensure that our international obligations to refugees are met. This includes resuming UK rescue missions in the Mediterranean and working with the French government to take steps to put an end to the need for refugee camps in Calais by developing safe and legal routes for refugees and people seeking asylum to settle both in the UK and across the EU.
Question 3: Reforming our asylum system
The experience of those seeking asylum in the UK is frequently difficult and distressing. For example, applicants are not allowed to work and must live on an allowance of just £5.39 a day while their claims are assessed by the Home office - a long and complicated process that can sometimes take many years.
Currently, less than a third of asylum applications are initially accepted. Around ¾ of those whose claims are rejected appeal, of which 40% are successful.
Q3: What key changes, if any, would you like to see being made to the current system for processing claims for asylum in the UK?
First, we must amend the situation for people seeking asylum as regards their right to work; I am committed, as is the Labour Party nationally, to ensuring that people seeking asylum are permitted to work. We must also ensure that funding is available to provide legal support to people seeking asylum by reversing budget cuts to legal aid and local authorities. Further, we must ensure that the system for people seeking asylum takes account of their building a life in a given area of the country, and does not make unreasonable demands of moving across the country or travelling extremely significant distances on a highly limited budget in order to attend hearings related to their asylum claim. This could be achieved both by amending existing Home Office guidance, and by restoring funding to the courts and tribunals service to allow legal officers to travel more widely and expand the existing legal estate to undo extensive closures seen over the last nine years. Finally, we must ensure that the Home Office takes an approach of supporting and assisting people seeking asylum during their time in the UK, ensuring that they are not rendered destitute, rather than adopting an approach of seeking to refuse claims.
Question 4: Homelessness and destitution among newly-recognised refugees
Once a refugee has had their asylum claims accepted by the UK government, they still face incredible challenges in starting their new lives. The unrealistic timescale in which they are expected to access welfare benefits, housing and employment mean, for example, that many successful applicants then find themselves homeless and destitute.
Q4: If elected to Parliament will you commit to looking at this issue and to arguing strongly for better support mechanism for this vulnerable group?
I am very willing to commit to look at the issue and to argue for better support for refugees and people seeking asylum, both via improvement to our benefits system and via measures tailored specifically to assist refugees and people seeking asylum.