Immigration, asylum and anti-deportation

The far-right “Homeland Party” succeeded on 31 January in getting registered with the Electoral Commission, having failed at its first attempt in August 2023. Despite a few quiet months, Homeland looks like overshadowing its parent organisation, Patriotic Alternative (PA). Homeland split from PA in May 2023 partly because of frustration at the lack of progress in on getting registered as a political party. PA had had a few farcical attempts at electoral registration, but had failed on every occasion. On one occasion, their logo was deemed potentially misleading to voters. Other grievances...

On 10 January, the investigative outlet Correctiv revealed details of a “private encounter” last November, at which politicians of Germany’s far-right AfD, neo-Nazi activists, and some supposedly “respectable” Christian Democrats and business people, discussed a “masterplan” for mass deportations of foreign nationals and foreign-born German citizens. According to Correctiv’s report, a leading AfD parliamentarian spoke about the need to change the “streetscape” of towns and cities by putting foreign-owned restaurants “under pressure”. The reaction to this report has been dramatic: over a...

On 16 and 17 January, the Tories could lose Commons votes on their Bill trying to save their “send them to Rwanda” asylum policy. Even if they win, they have a battle to work the bIll, which tries to instruct courts Rwanda must be reckoned safe even if it is not. From 30 January, train drivers are striking. As yet, the government and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) hesitate about deploying the new Minimum Service Law, which allows for the TOCs to issue “work notices” instructing drivers to turn up sufficiently for 40% service, and to get the whole strike ruled unlawful unless the union...

The Tory government’s “Safety of Rwanda” Bill comes back to the Commons for further debate and a vote on 16-17 January. Tory ultras are pressing to sharpen it, and saying they will vote against if their amendments fall; other Tories dislike the Bill’s conflict with international law even as it is. The Bill declares: “Every decision-maker must conclusively treat the Republic of Rwanda as a safe country... The provisions of this Act apply notwithstanding the relevant provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998... It is for a Minister of the Crown... to decide whether the United Kingdom will comply...

A list of many campaigns that Workers' Liberty activists are involved with and support, plus info about other organising and resources.

The new Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has announced a further tightening of visa conditions in response to a manufactured panic over high net migration figures. The Tories’ moves offer nothing but more performative cruelty for their culture war election strategy.

Speaking at the Tory Party conference in October, Suella Braverman claimed that a “surge” of migrants is heading for the UK which “could bring millions more migrants to these shores.” Braverman stated that migration was backed by the UK elite with their “luxury beliefs”, claiming that their wealth protected them, and that “migrants won’t be taking their jobs… [migrants] will be mowing their lawns or cleaning their homes… [the out-of-touch rich] have no use for their British passports unless it is taking them to their second homes in Tuscany.” Braveman is a dull-witted, far-right politician...

Excerpted with thanks from an article by Alex de Jong in Grenzeloos The electoral rise of the extreme right [in the Dutch election of 22 November] was largely at the expense of the (centre) right. With 37 of the 150 parliamentary seats, the [far-right] PVV now has a wide lead over number two, GroenLinks/PvdA, which won 25 seats. The total number of seats for left-wing parties remained constant, while the parties that were part of the centre-right government all lost seats... The VVD’s [main centre-right party] gamble was that the elections would result in polarization between them and the...

On 15 November, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s judgement that the government’s plan to deport refugees to Rwanda, rather than let them apply for asylum in the UK, is unlawful. The judges unanimously agreed that there is a real risk refugees will not be safe in Rwanda. Rwanda’s authoritarian government is itself accused of torture, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Crucially for this case, Rwanda’s asylum system - deemed seriously and systematically defective by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees - is liable to send refugees with valid asylum claims back to...

Suella Braverman’s sacking as Home Secretary on Monday 13 November shows much about the direction of, and tensions within, the Conservative Party. The immediate reason for Braverman’s dismissal was her refusal to expurgate the most egregious parts of her article in The Times of 8 November, but the underlying reasons are more political. Braverman has consciously and cynically shifted to a hard-right position. It would appear that some of this was licenced by Number 10, but tension between her and the core round Sunak has become more evident recently. She asserted in September that...