Earlier this week, Liberal Democrat MPs forced a vote on an amendment which would have allowed asylum seekers to work if they had been waiting on their decision for more than three months. Of course Labour, Tories and Reform voted against it.

Here is our Home Affairs Spokesperson Lisa Smart introducing this in Parliament.

Allowing asylum seekers to work has long been an aim of our party. In the last Parliament Christine Jardine attempted to bring in a private members bill which would implement this.

Lisa  has been writing on the party website about this week’s vote and why we need to stand up to divisive politics:

The UK has a long, proud history of welcoming newcomers – whether people seeking to build their lives here, or refugees fleeing war and persecution.

People from all over the world have greatly enriched our economy, our culture and our communities. For me, I’m immensely proud that our country took in my Nan aged 18 when she was fleeing the Nazis in 1939. I’m also really pleased the surgeon who performed my Dad’s kidney transplant brought his skills and talents to the UK having been born elsewhere.

We must do everything in our power to protect this legacy – not least after everything the Conservatives did to trash it.

They closed down safe and legal routes for refugees, putting more power in the hands of traffickers. They allowed the asylum backlog to balloon on their watch, trapping asylum seekers in limbo for months or even years. And they threatened the fundamental right to asylum with their cruel Illegal Migration Act and failed Rwanda scheme.

Now, the Labour government has a real opportunity to fix this mess and start building a more compassionate, effective system. But sadly, they have so far failed to bring forward the positive change that people deserve.

I’m deeply proud of our party’s history of standing up for people fleeing war and persecution in particular. From getting new visas introduced for Hong Kongers coming to the UK, to ending the previous Labour Government’s practice of detaining children for immigration purposes, Liberal Democrats have long been at the forefront of securing change.

I’m determined that we continue in this proud tradition – which is why I’ve been making these same arguments as the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill passed through Parliament.

First and foremost, that means pushing for more safe and legal routes for refugees. Whether that’s establishing new humanitarian travel permits, or continuing Lib Dem peer Sally Hamwee’s tireless efforts to extend family reunion rights. This will be crucial for taking power out of the hands of the criminal trafficking gangs responsible for dangerous crossings in the Channel.

At the same time, we need an asylum system that makes decisions fairly and swiftly – which is why we’ve been calling to tackle the backlog by establishing a dedicated unit to improve the speed and quality of asylum decision-making.

And we will keep pushing Labour to take the action that’s needed. If they really cared about improving integration, they would have backed our amendment this week that would have scrapped the ban on asylum seekers working. But our party won’t give up, and will now take this fight to the House of Lords.

In the face of divisive and destructive politics, it is more important than ever that the Liberal Democrats continue to offer a liberal alternative. One that is kind and compassionate – standing up for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, and ensuring all migrants are treated with dignity and respect like they deserve.

I am determined to do everything in my power to ensure this is the case.

Party members may find this more reassuring than her initial response to Keir Starmer’s speech on immigration on Monday summed up by Fraser Graham’s piece on this site.  However, they might want to see more proactive demolition of the disgraceful rhetoric that is commonplace in the media and, now, apparently, from a Government that would like to present itself as progressive.