Tag Archives: fraser graham

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.