- Lib Dems announce proposals to fix broken immigration system
- Lib Dems demand internal Tory enquiry amidst electoral fraud allegations
- Bolton fire shows further action must be taken to ensure building safety
Lib Dems announce proposals to fix broken immigration system
The Liberal Democrats today unveiled their Plan for Immigration and Asylum. The plan sets out the party’s ambitious proposals for a fair, effective immigration system – part of the Liberal Democrats’ broader plan to build a brighter future.
The Liberal Democrat manifesto will outline plans to reform and strengthen our immigration system by:
- Saving EU free movement and safeguarding the rights of UK and EU citizens.
- Scrapping the Conservatives’ Hostile Environment.
- Investing in officers, training and technology to prevent illegal entry at Britain’s borders, assist seekers of sanctuary and combat human trafficking and the smuggling of people, weapons, drugs and wildlife.
- Making detention an absolute last resort, with a 28-day time limit.
- Resettling 10,000 vulnerable refugees each year, and a further 10,000 unaccompanied refugee children from elsewhere in Europe over the next ten years.
Announcing the plan, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary Christine Jardine said:
The UK’s immigration system is broken and it is hurting everyone. Employers can’t recruit the workers they need. People are wrongly denied access to healthcare and housing, detained and even deported. Public confidence in the system has been shattered.
Decades of hostile policies and rhetoric from Labour and Conservative governments have created a system that no one trusts, and that fails to respect people’s dignity. Now both Labour and the Conservatives want to make it all much worse by delivering Brexit and ending free movement.
Liberal Democrats will build a brighter future, with a fair, effective immigration system that treats everyone with dignity and respect. We will scrap the Conservatives’ Hostile Environment, restore dignity and common sense, and stop Brexit to save free movement.
Lib Dems demand internal Tory enquiry amidst electoral fraud allegations
The Liberal Democrats have called for the Conservatives to immediately launch an independent internal enquiry concerning allegations Conservative Party officials offered Brexit Party candidates jobs and peerages to stand aside.
In a letter to Conservative Party Chairman James Cleverly, the Liberal Democrat President Sal Brinton said: “The severity of these claims has implications not just for the integrity of the General Election, but also for the public’s trust in our democracy.”
The letter, responding to the news that the police are assessing an electoral fraud and malpractice claim into No 10 offering Brexit Party members peerages, goes on to say an independent internal enquiry “would be an opportunity to show the party has nothing to hide.”
The Liberal Democrat President, Sal Brinton, has also urged the Conservatives to “cooperate fully with the Police so they can clarify these allegations.”
Bolton fire shows further action must be taken to ensure building safety
Responding to news that cladding may have been a factor in a fire at a student accommodation block in Bolton, Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government said:
My thoughts are with all those affected by this incident and our emergency services teams who tackled the blaze last night.
In the wake of the Grenfell tragedy, it is absolutely shocking to witness another high-rise fire in which cladding may have been a factor in allowing the fire to spread.
Lives are in danger. The government must act immediately to make sure that all high-rise buildings are safe to live in, whether they are owned by councils, housing associations or the private sector. The priority must be people’s safety. There is no excuse for inaction.
It’s also essential that we review building safety regulations to ensure that building materials are fit for purpose and do not pose a fire risk. We cannot allow buildings to be built that endanger people’s lives.
3 Comments
Article on the Australian immigration system,we already have it,Tories Labour exploiting the fear of immigration of /for workers.They know they are pushing rubbish for political ends inews.co.uk/opinion/uk-immigration-rules-australia-system-law -642815
Is refugee a generic term including both asylum seekers and economic or other migrants?The terminology is very confusing. I know it is not always easy to distinguish them and some are both. However, escaping persecution is very different from seeking a better life.
Or has the distinction lost its usefulness?
Peter Hirst: A refugee has been recognised as such by the UNHCR or by a sovereign state.
An asylum seeker has claimed asylum and awaits a decision.
A third category is an Internally Displaced Person (IDP). There are millions of IDPs in Syria now.