The below letter is to send to your MP with reference to the unfolding situation around Ukranian refugees.
MPs are elected to represent us in Parliament. The letter below allows you to express to your MP that the Borders Bill contains a number of aspects extremely harmful to refugees, and explains what you hope they will do.
Follow these steps to send the below letter to your MP:
- Copy the letter text below
- Click here to access the ‘Write to them’ website
- Paste your letter text and complete the boxes
- Hit ‘send’, and it’s done!
You stand in Parliament to represent your constituents and their concerns, and for that reason I am writing to you about an issue close to my heart, which I hope you will pay heed to.
I want to urge you to stand against the Nationality and Borders Bill, which operates in a manner that is fundamentally racist and discriminatory. I agree with Lord Kerr, who stipulated that the Bill betrays the values the UK stands for and greatly tarnishes its reputation.
In this time of the UK being seen on the world stage to fail in its part to offer support and sanctuary to Ukrainian refugees, I am concerned that this Bill, should it pass into law, will have a vastly detrimental effect on not only Ukrainian refugees but ALL refugees. This is unacceptable to me, and as your constituent I would appreciate your reassurance that you stand against this harmful Bill.
Below are the main aspects of the Borders Bill I believe are dangerous and reflect a regressive, oppressive government, for which reasons I do not want you to support it in Parliament:
- Clause 9 would aim to remove citizenship without notice and make British citizens stateless without their knowledge, so removing their right to appeal.
- Clause 11 would allow differential treatment of refugees, discriminating against them depending on how they arrived in the UK.
- Clause 15 breaks the Refugee Convention, nullifying asylum claims from certain refugees and allowing the government to return them to a safe country if they passed through one on their route to the UK.
- Clause 40(3) would criminalise people helping refugees in the Channel by removing the current limitation that this criminalisation acts on people who are helping ‘for gain’. This targets humanitarian activists and enables prosecution and severe sentencing for saving lives.
- Part 5 introduces a number of regressive steps in the identification and support of victims of modern slavery, contrary to the principle of non-regression of human rights standards, as well as breaching the UK’s obligations under international law. Evidence indicates long-term impacts being reduction in victim protection, less ability to break trafficking cycles, and fewer prosecutions of perpetrators.
Therefore, I am urgently requesting three things of you as my Parliamentary representative:
Firstly, I would like to hear back from you on your position with regard to these areas of the Nationality and Borders Bill and the issues raised.
Secondly, I would like you to inform me regarding whether you will speak out against, and refuse to support the Nationality and Borders Bill, and whether you will call for it to be amended to safeguard against the regression and danger it could engender, for the sake of the UK, its reputation, and its people.
Lastly, I would like you to write to the Home Secretary to convey the concerns which I and a multitude of people have, ask for a clear response and please pass on what she says.
I want to make it unambiguously clear that a plethora of people, including but not limited to myself, friends, and family, will be acutely observing how you vote on this matter. This is a poignant matter and will largely determine who we place faith in at the ballot box in the future.
Many thanks for your time and your consideration on this most pressing of issues.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Save Our Citizenships 