Gulf between governments on
IN one tragic accident last week, five people – including a child – lost their lives while attempting to cross the Channel to reach the UK. This deeply upsetting news was a terrible reminder of how people around the world are forced to flee their homes, and the terrible risks they will often take just to reach a place of safety. It underscored the need to provide safe routes and treat people seeking asylum with kindness and compassion.
This tragic news broke just hours after the UK Government’s a threat to their life or freedom deserve. The UK Government should be upholding this, rather than undermining international protection and penalising the people who need our protection.
Not only is the bill morally repugnant, it also won’t work. When we have seen people putting their lives in danger by crossing the Channel to reach safety, it seems highly unlikely that the threat of being sent to Rwanda will be an effective deterrent. The UK Government should instead focus on making the asylum system fit for purpose and working through the backlog, while ensuring there is adequate funding for councils to support people seeking asylum.
The Rwanda Bill is one of the starkest illustrations you can get of how vastly different the values of the Scottish and UK governments are. While the UK Government focuses on deterring people seeking asylum from coming to the UK, Scottish ministers will continue to do all we can – within the limits of our powers and fixed budget – to support and nurture those seeking safety on our shores.
Earlier this month, we announced £3.6 million in Scottish Government funding for Scottish Refugee Council’s Refugee Support Service. This funding will allow them to continue supporting people to settle into communities and rebuild their lives here – including helping them to access health, housing, welfare and employment support.
We also recently updated our New Scots Refugee Integration
it would cost her £20,000 in tuition for one year – money that very few 25-year-olds just have to hand.
Currently, she can’t work in Scotland either.
“Because of Brexit, I can’t get a working visa”, Louis said. “I’ve come here on holiday so that I can still enjoy the country.
“I do hope you can get independence soon so that you can come back into the EU and I can come back and work.”
This is what groups like the Yes Stones are all about – connecting people from all over Scotland and the rest of the world to the independence movement.
Louis is one of thousands of Europeans whose futures have been unfairly impacted by Brexit; a Brexit that was dictated and voted for by Westminster and which Scotland voted against.
To see someone like Louis brought to an independence rally because of a Yes stone was really special. It showed us the power of the movement, and that the future of Scottish independence is bright.
A LEFT-WING group in the SNP has expressed concern over the “appeasement of right-wing ideologies” within the party.
The SNP Socialists published a statement on Twitter/X yesterday calling on the SNP leadership to re-commit support for progressive policies such as the ban on conversion therapy – which was tabled by the Scottish Greens
– and to condemn any shift to the right in the party.
The statement comes after the First Minister made the decision to “terminate” the Bute House Agreement (BHA) – the powersharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens which led to a pro-independence majority government in Holyrood.
The group said its members were “upset” that the agreement had broken down because they were “excited about the vision” it offered.
It called for any future decisions “of this magnitude” to be conducted “democratically and, wherever possible, in full consultation with SNP membership”.
After the statement was published, the group clarified that it backed Yousaf “against any attempt – from whichever direction – to bring his government down”.
The group added: “However, we need clear commitments about its future political direction with no backsliding on progressive policies.
“If there is to be a ‘reset’ we advocate for a left policy programme including public ownership, land reform, action on poverty and inequality, just transition to stop climate change and defending workers’ rights.”
It went on: “We all feel upset that the SNP/Green coalition has broken down because we were excited by the vision that the BHA offered.
“It presented a vehicle through which progressive socialist policies and inclusive could be championed. We believe that the struggle both for independence and for a fairer, greener and more socialist society are closely interlinked and that they have both been undermined by BHA’s ending.
“Regardless of the outcome of next week’s vote, we remain committed to progressive socialist and inclusive policies for the benefit of the people of Scotland and in the interest of saving our planet.”