Author Archives: Lord Roger Roberts

Lord Roger Roberts writes…Our asylum system is crying out for reform

By Lord Roger Roberts | Fri 21st June 2013 - 11:58 am

A few months ago I met Stephen, who had just been granted refugee status having waited five years for a decision on his case.

He fled persecution in Uganda for being gay, and since his arrival in the UK, he had not been able to seek work despite holding a master’s degree in psychology. For five years, he was dependent on a meagre handout (which is currently £36.62 a week). His distress and frustration were palpable; but sadly, he is but one of many.

Stephen’s case exemplifies the nonsensical nature of Government policy on asylum seekers. At present, taxpayers’ money …

Posted in News | Tagged asylum, immigration and ld4sos | 3 Comments

Lord Roger Roberts writes: Don’t try to win votes by coming down hard on migrants

By Lord Roger Roberts | Sat 18th May 2013 - 12:58 pm

This year is very special: it is the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht treaty. We have, since 1993, been European citizens, each of us endowed with the rights of free movement, settlement and employment across the Union. Of course, we are anxious about the lifting of barriers for some European Union workers at the beginning of next year. I suggest that we remove all hostility and suspicion and treat them as they are: fellow citizens of the Union. If we treat them otherwise, we are asking for trouble. Facts must take prominence; scaremongering must be stamped out.

But of course we …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged asylum, eu and immigration | 5 Comments

Lord Roger Roberts writes…Don’t cut funding for charities which help homeless migrants

By Lord Roger Roberts | Wed 27th March 2013 - 8:57 am

Homelessness among Central and Eastern European migrants in London is a notoriously difficult issue to tackle. Success stories are few and far between. For this reason, I was extremely concerned to learn that two London councils are cutting their funding to one of the most effective charities that deals with this issue. The charity is Barka UK.

I am President of Friends of Barka UK. Today in the Lords I will question the Government about their plans to continue funding reconnection programmes, such as those offered by Barka UK. I have recently founded the ‘Setting the Record Straight’ campaign …

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged homelessness and migrants | 2 Comments

Lord Roberts writes … Our Electoral System – not fit for purpose

By Lord Roger Roberts | Sat 28th November 2009 - 6:45 pm

The need to reform the Electoral System was underlined by a number of us on the Liberal Democrat benches in the House of Lords.The possibility of it being included in the Queen’s Speech was always minimal but we dared to hope..

We are still living in an age with a system that goes back 200 years. We are trying to run a modern democracy on a dinosaur of a system. In 1832, the Great Reform Act just doubled the electorate from half a million to 1 million. In 1867, the electorate was increased to 2.5 million. In 1884, agricultural workers were added and the electoral total went up to 5 million.

In 1918, the great leap forward came when women aged over 30 were given the vote and the total electorate became 21 million. This was further increased to 28 million in 1928 when women and men aged 21 and over could vote. In 1960, 18 year-olds were added and today the total electorate is in the region of 45 million.

We are using a system devised for half a million people for an electorate that is now 45 million. The system goes back to the time when there were only two parties, Whigs and Tories, later Liberals and Conservatives. There were straight fights in every constituency apart from those with unopposed returns.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged electoral reform, house of lords, proportional representation and single transferable vote | 1 Comment