Scottish Greens condemn Labour’s ‘despicable’ new anti-refugee laws
The biggest UK parties are competing with one another in a bid to be as hostile as possible to refugees and migrant communities, say the Scottish Greens.
The party has condemned new guidance by Labour to deny citizenship to people who arrive in the UK on a small boat, and the race to the bottom that it represents for human rights.
Ms Chapman said:
“It is grotesque to watch Labour competing with the Tories and Reform to see who can be the most hostile to refugees and migrant communities. It is a race to the bottom for human rights.
“Keir Starmer was a human rights lawyer, but now he is implementing some of the most racist, authoritarian and despicable anti-migrant policies in decades.
“Nobody gets in a small boat to make a dangerous crossing by choice. It is because they believe they have no alternative, that not doing so would be worse, perhaps even more deadly. These journeys are symptomatic of an inhumane system that does not offer safe passage or support.
“When refugees arrive in the UK they are met with a cruel and opaque system that doesn’t offer anywhere near enough to live comfortably, meanwhile some of the most powerful people in the country scaremonger, scapegoat and lie about them on a daily basis.
“We can and must be a welcoming country that offers support and solidarity to people in need rather than punishing and demonising them. We must also recognise the role that the UK has played in creating instability in other parts of the world.
“Freedom, empathy, compassion and solidarity have to be at the heart of the system we create. But that can’t happen as long as the UK government is prioritising performative cruelty and trying to compete with Nigel Farage.”