Human rights are universal - if we start stripping away basic human rights from any section of society then none of us has rights – just privileges that can be taken away by people in power whenever they want

And the worst part is, he’s absolutely spot on. Labour isn’t seeing off the threat from Farage; they’re laying the foundations that Reform will build from in government.

‘what if torture and inhumane and degrading treatment was fine sometimes’ – the Labour Party

The underlying idea is that a normal life, where you can feel safe, settled and plan for future, is a luxury that only some deserve. An awful slippery slope of inhumanity. Which of our rights will crumble next? I never want to hear anything about a 'proud history of blah blah blah' ever again. 🤦‍♀️😞

Another feature I've noticed amongst those defending/supporting the proposed policy on refugees: not just a failure of empathy, but a kind of antipathy. That is, not only can they not put themselves in the place of the refugees, but they actively differentiate themselves. Refugees become non-human.

It's never illegal to claim asylum.

This is exactly what they're saying

This is literally the point of offering people protection. They are talking about undermining the entire principle of refugee status and punishing people for having the misfortune of being forced to leave their country. I cannot imagine a more callous, cruel thing to think, let alone say out loud.

To reiterate, this is about making life immeasurably more miserable and stressful for some of the most vulnerable people, in the almost certainly vain hope of winning over the votes of racists. Anything more shabby and shameful is difficult to envisage.

This is a morally bankrupt Labour Party that cares about nothing but their tanking poll numbers. All sense of morality and good governance thrown out the window in favour of “but Reform!”. Here’s the thing - if you’re already behaving like Reform, why should anyone care whether it’s you or them?

This is utterly foul. People recognised as refugees will never able to settle and find the long-term security they need to recover, always at risk of being returned if they can’t prove they still *really* deserve to be here. A life lived in permanent limbo. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

🚨🚨🚨 Our new report on hotel accommodation drops today. These hotels are not 5*. Here's the proof. Relying on testimony from clients, photos & medical evidence, you can now see the awful reality of hotel life. More updates throughout the day so watch this space. www.ramfel.org.uk/asylum-hotel...

Lawyers representing male Albanian victims of trafficking may find helpful this template for seeking permission to cite the recent unreported Upper Tribunal decision in ES (UI-2025-000360) which addresses whether trafficked men from Albania constitute a Particular Social Group: bit.ly/4qQqp4a

It's almost as if you focus solely on "stopping small boats", instead of making it safer and simpler for people to seek asylum in the UK, along with protecting victims of gangs, that every piece of expert advice will be proven right and routes will just shift. #r4today www.bbc.com/news/article...

75 years of respect for human dignity and autonomy, of restraints on how the state can treat people, of internationalism over authoritarianism and fascism. You can see why the right hate it

FfT has published 'A Place to Heal' a powerful report centring the voices of those in asylum housing & exposing the devastating harm it causes to survivors. The solutions are simple: ✅ Better quality & faster asylum decisions to manage numbers ✅ Locally-tailored, well-resourced housing

The UK govt is just sitting out confronting this guy’s lies And worse than that, they drive traffic to his site by posting on it!

Adding: 4. Introduce a meaningful route to long-term protection for trafficking survivors via the NRM instead of forcing them into the asylum system.

Kavin came to the UK legally on a skilled worker visa with hopes and dreams. His manager—who sponsored his visa—took his phone, passport, and documents. Forced him to work endless hours. Paid him £100 for a month’s work. Beat him. Threatened deportation if he complained. 🧵

I don’t do the philosophy of migration in a consequentialist register, but it maddens me when those who do bang on about the potential harms of “open borders” while seemingly oblivious to the harms of closing them: deaths, massive enforcement costs, intrusive surveillance, thwarted opportunities

Shocked to learn that press and politicians aren’t faithfully reflecting the spontaneous lived concerns of ordinary folk: "for most people, concerns around immigration are not based on personal experience”

More and more people are saying it: the Home Office is not fit for purpose and should be broken up, so migration can be dealt with by a department designed to make the system actually work for all of us.

If using camps was about reducing costs of hotels then they fail, as cost more If it is about "community cohesion", they fail as still generate tensions If it was about "safe accommodation", they fail as they are shown not to be. Camps fail on absolutely every metric.

The most vitriol I ever received over at The Other Place was when I said I don’t support automatic deportation for those convicted of sexual offences because I believe women in other countries deserve safety too. I don’t think “go rape women over there, not here” is a morally just position. Anyway…

So they’re going to run the exact same playbook against Vietnamese people seeking protection as they did against Albanians, and once again the people who will be most affected by this are victims of trafficking who will be left with no path to safety. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

In today's Guardian I spoke about the need for the Home Office to be broken up to ensure migrants are dealt with by a department designed to make the system work rather than simply projecting a hardline stance to the public.

Asylum seekers, housed in hotels in Manchester, are reaching out in their own words to address the concerns of the local community. Please take a minute to read their letter, & share it with the people in your life who need to hear the truth about the people they are protesting.

Who is “we” here

I’ve always felt a need to follow certain ‘important’ journalists, commentators etc just to keep up with what’s going on but honestly, why? Apart from making me blood-boilingly angry at how wrong they constantly are, how does it actually improve my work with young people? I’m not doing it anymore.

Happy clock change day, everyone 🙃

I was talking to a couple of people working behind the bar at an event the other day. Both of them younger and more in touch with new tech developments than me. They hate AI. All their friends hate AI. Me and all my friends also hate AI. Who is this push towards AI actually for?

Labour haemorrhaging votes to its left; losing by-elections to the left; Green Party membership at record high under left-wing populist leader. Rentoul: This all proves that Labour should continue its shift to the right. I am very smart

They just don't want migrants. Everything else is obfuscation.

Quick break from my usual posting to say this was the correct decision and I had an absolute blast as always judging these 12 amazing songs (and AOMD).

Yet another case of the Home Office noticing an increase in asylum claims by people arriving via legal routes and responding by immediately slamming that route closed. It’s like they WANT people to travel irregularly.

📣URGENT We are sharing this urgent call to action for Arjeta, a much-loved member of her Liverpool community. She has been served with a deportation order for tomorrow - please share her story + support her campaign. Donate to the legal fund: www.gofundme.com/f/help-free-... Sign the petition:

“Despite condemning the racist and divisive rhetoric of Farage and his followers, Starmer’s Government continue to accept the central premise of his message that the biggest problem facing the country is the amount of people who want to come and live here.“

The Home Office doesn't lose as many asylum & deportation cases as it does because of some supposed marginal differences between the application of Art 8 in UK courts and the ECtHR view, it loses so many cases because it's caseload has long been woefully mismanaged... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

My op-ed for LBC on how, rather than confronting Reform, Starmer's rhetoric and policies are emboldening them. Labour needs to start making positive cases, improving lives, and challenging misinformation, rather reinforcing Reform's own narrative and scapegoating. www.lbc.co.uk/article/keir...

Every death in the Channel is the avoidable result of a political choice.

As with compulsory national service, plans like this never consider what the experience might be like for people who use these charity services when the ‘volunteers’ delivering them have basically been forced to be there against their will.

The migrant crisis is a crisis for the migrants. They are in crisis and need safe routes, asylum and compassion

Mahmood’s response is ‘completely disingenuous unless she is completely clueless about how the system is operating… the “intolerable” “last minute attempts to frustrate a removal” are a direct result of the system designed by the Home Office’ @sonial77.bsky.social freemovement.org.uk/home-office-...

Three-quarters of negative Conclusive Grounds decisions in the first half of 2025 were due to insufficient information. Only 7% were refused on credibility grounds. Refusals due to insufficient information increased 3000% between 2022 and 2024. Whereas refusals on credibility grounds fell 300%.

Breaking news: the charity Bail For Immigration Detainees provides advice about bail to immigration detainees. More on this shocking story as we get it. archive.ph/CwkUu

I was walking near Liverpool Street earlier when I saw a guy outside a pub with a union flag tied around him like a cape walk up to a young Asian woman who was minding her business and start making thrusting motions at her and sticking his tongue between his fingers. Protectors of women indeed.

I have never met someone who crossed the Channel who’d even heard of the Dublin III regulation let alone been motivated to come here by its absence. It certainly can’t be described as a “major reason” people come here.

"Tougher" border enforcement won't change this. Restricting family reunification won't change this. Returns agreements won't change this. All the evidence shows it. Until it is safer and simpler to seek asylum more men, women and children will die in the channel. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

A racist mob menacing refugee children and our town. Read this and see what lies ahead, unless we act now