Thanks to @petewishart.bsky.social for highlighting the @lsepress.bsky.social report to the home secretary, commissioned by #PCS and Refugees Together which suggests policy changes which would enable refugees to contribute to UK economy and be self-sufficient quicker. www.pcs.org.uk/news-events/...

We must stop the hostility towards, and demonisation of, people just trying to seek safety. Our statement on just some of the Home Secretary's proposed changes to the asylum system

Completely beyond why people try to defend Labour record on treatment of asylum seekers. They are awful. They have done terrible things the Tories never even thought of, like denying any refugee who came here through irregular means from EVER becoming a citizen & ENDING FAMILY REUNIFICATION. demons.

It's not as if Labour even believes what it says... Starmer and his acolytes in Westminster, Holyrood and The Senedd just blow in the wind of political opportunism.

I had the highest immigration caseload in Scotland, and was proud to advocate on behalf of constituents. It's important work and makes a huge difference to people's lives. I hear that some Labour MPs have reverted to pre-2015 behaviour of not supporting people with immigration casework. Shameful.

ECHR has protected domestic-violence survivors, disabled people fighting cuts, bereaved families demanding inquests, racialized communities resisting police abuse & people in mental health settings facing neglect. Don’t be distracted. This is a rights rollback for everyone. tinyurl.com/3namk9ss

Govt pushing for “tough” asylum plans,but the real danger is the move to rewrite how UK courts apply the ECHR.This won’t stop at deportation cases Undermine rights for migrants,&you weaken the tools every marginalised group relies on to hold the state to account www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Just wilful performative cruelty that is entirely out of step with the majority of British people. How many Labour MPs got into politics in order to vote for stealing jewellery off of people seeking refuge from war and persecution?

Imagine spending 20 years waiting to see if a reconsideration every few years would uproot you again. Never leaving the system. Constantly wondering whether you'd need to challenge a new decision made, thinking about evidence and getting legal help. Never feeling safe. It's inhumane.

There’s just so much performative cruelty and stupidity in the asylum announcements that it’s hard to know where to start. But one place to start is that if its aim is to reduce small boats crossings, it won’t work. We’ve had 5 years of deterrent policies. They don’t work.

Imagine you find a place to make a new life for yourself after a traumatic event. You form a family, find work, make friends, learn a new way to live. Then 20 years later a government minister decides you haven’t ‘tried hard enough’ so sends you back to the place of your trauma. 1/3

Jewellery, gold teeth and glasses frames, pens and watches and watch chains. These things were taken from the desperate and dispossessed as they entered the camps. If you are a Labour MP, it is time to act. Either you take back your party for humanity and solidarity now, or you leave.

Dehumanising language Undermining human rights protections Putting people in military camps Seizing their jewellery Shame on the Labour party

Since removing the two-child benefit cap is all over the news today I just wanna shout out my ex MP Alison Thewliss @thewliss.bsky.social who was absolutely Instrumental in keeping the issue in people's minds when it could easily have just faded away

Buckhaven, Methil and Wemyss Villages (Fife) by-election, 1st prefs: SNP: 1594 (42.6%, -4.9) RUK: 1080 (28.9%, new) Lab: 778 (20.8%, -19.5) LD: 99 (2.6%, +0.4) Alba: 83 (2.2%, +0.9) Con: 64 (1.7%, -4.8) Sovereignty: 45 (1.2%, new) (Greens 2.2% in 2022) SNP elected stage TBC (3rd time lucky!)

While Labour copies Farage’s policies, our NHS and care homes are finding it harder to recruit the staff they need. We have a solution.👇

💛 Brilliant conversations last night at the inaugural meeting of the new Glasgow Central SNP - plans well underway for next year's Scottish Parliament elections. www.snp.org/join/

Oh, there's even more. Even more unhinged. Posted on the other place. Now is the worst time to be posting misinformation about immigration and asylum

Whatever you think of the SNP in Glasgow, some remarks from Scottish Labour MPs who should know better, have been embarrassing. This today, incorrectly claiming SNP housing policies have any impact on asylum cases which is reserved to Westminster and dealt with by Home Office contractors, is mince.

Kemi Badenoch says her political strategy will "pay off eventually" for the Conservative party. Here's how it's going so far

"The Scottish parliament has voted overwhelmingly for “historic” long-term rent controls – a first across the UK ... It sets deadlines for landlords to address issues ... hazardous to tenants’ health and stronger support for social tenants facing domestic abuse." www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Delighted that our Housing Bill was just passed by the Scottish Parliament. It will deliver a fairer deal for tenants - more affordable rents, safer homes, stronger protections. It will help prevent homelessness, and ultimately, change lives. And it will bring new investment in housing.

Good BBC report on life in asylum hotels www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

11 years ago, Scotland was inspired to think big. To imagine a better future, in our own hands. Today, the case for independence is stronger than ever. Independence is the fresh start Scotland needs - with lower bills, a fairer society, and our rightful place in Europe.

Scotland is a nation - and nations have the right to decide their future. Today I have launched and signed the Right to Decide declaration. Let’s make Scotland’s voice heard loud and clear. Add your name here: yes.scot/decide

The SNP Scottish Government will continue implement our world-leading New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy and will always do everything in its power to welcome those who need sanctuary when fleeing persecution. 3/3

The Home Office needs to remember that human rights apply to everyone, including refugees, and that seeking asylum is not illegal. We can’t risk the loss of human rights for the sake of pandering to Farage. 2/3

Yesterday’s UK Government announcement that family reunification for refugees are being suspended is a cruel and inhumane policy. The UK Government can’t reduce illegal immigration by closing down the few safe and legal routes for people seeking sanctuary. 1/3

Tha sinn air bhioran fàilte a chur oirbh uile an-diugh. Dèan cinnteach gum bi botal uisge (bùrn👀) agaibh, tha i gu bhith blàth!

This World Breastfeeding Week, the focus is on Creating Sustainable Support Systems. 💜 The UK needs to do more to support mums returning to work while breastfeeding. Your workplace should support you to breastfeed as long as you choose. Info from Maternity Action and @wbtiuk.bsky.social #WBW2025

📢 New research shows women face barriers & abuse as political candidates. In our new report, we wanted to dig deep & explore the candidate journey for women, from preparing to stand as a candidate, including interview & vetting processes, to being elected & what happens after 🧵⬇

LATEST: A project hailed as a 'shining example' of urban regeneration is to receive £3.5 million of Scottish Government cash, the First Minister announced

🚨 Thousands of trafficking survivors continue to be denied permission to stay in the UK despite their critical need for safety and support — a new report by @helenbamber.bsky.social, ATLEU & @ecpatuk.bsky.social reveals. Instead survivors are left in fear and at risk of further exploitation. 🧵1/3

“My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people,” writes Omer Bartov, a professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University. “I have been teaching classes on genocide for a quarter of a century. I can recognize one when I see one.”

The most cost-effective way to reduce child poverty is to abolish the two-child limit, which would cost £7,480 per child lifted out of poverty. If it is not scrapped then one-in-three children will be in poverty by 2029-39, including half of children in large families 👉 buff.ly/oiV5Re2

Great video from our friends @savechildrenuk.bsky.social The government must scrap the two-child limit.

'A total of 3,670 women had to declare that they had been a victim of rape in order to gain an exemption from the two-child limit on benefits.' @bigissue.com www.bigissue.com/news/social-...

Data published by the UK Government today shows that across the UK, almost half a million households are now affected by the two child limit policy. The UK Government must scrap the limit which is denying children the childhood they deserve. #NoLimitsToChildhood

The DWP published this year's stats on households impacted by the two-child limit today, which include some welcome new breakdowns on gender and ethnicity, receipt of health/disability benefits, conditionality group, and whether households are affected by the benefit cap. Quick thread/

1.7 MILLION children live in households restricted by the two-child benefit limit. That's 1.7 MILLION children whose parents have to split their child benefit to care for their kids. This policy is directly damaging 1.7 MILLION life chances. Lift the limit immediately.

It hasn't made much of a splash, but new figures out today show that close to 1.7 million children live in families affected by the two-child limit. This can & must change as @kittyjstewart.bsky.social and I argue in @theconversation.com theconversation.com/over-1-6-mil...

New government data on the impact of the two child limit: 469,780 households now affected, with 1,665,540 children in those households Almost 40,000 more children affected since last year It's a child poverty machine & it will cost us all more in the long term - get rid of it

The UK cannot cherry-pick who deserves safety. Keir Starmer's 'one-in, one-out' deal with France risks breaching asylum rights and ignores the reasons people are forced to cross the Channel. It won’t stop smugglers, only punish people with no safe route and no chance to rebuild their lives safely.

In case you missed it: Afghan scheme closed immediately and major changes to skilled worker route – statement of changes: HC 997 | Sonia Lenegan

ILGA's annual Rainbow Report highlighted that the ongoing treatment of refugees, migrants and people seeking asylum continues to put these communities at serious risk. 1/4

If you chose to live here you are Scots. 'The New Scots refugee integration strategy sets out a vision of a welcoming Scotland where people are able to rebuild their lives from the day they arrive.' www.gov.scot/policies/asy...

A somewhat truncated full council this cycle as @scottishlabour.bsky.social didn’t bother getting any motions in before the deadline 🫠

Hard to say how disappointing this morning‘s speech really was. Morally AND intellectually. Agree with every line here by @iandunt.bsky.social 👇