The Conservative Party and Their Media Allies Are Islamophobic
Aaron Bastani
The mainstream media are resolutely ignoring the racism that lies at the heart of the Conservative party, argues Aaron Bastani.
Articles
5 Reasons We Don’t Need Detention Centres
Freed Voices
Detention centres seem inevitable. In reality, they are an invention of an inhumane immigration system. Here's five reasons we don't need them.
A Measly Fine for RBS Shows Just How Little We’ve Learnt From the Financial Crisis
Grace Blakeley
Today the Royal Bank of Scotland agreed to pay a settlement of just $5bn to the US government over its activities in the run up to the financial crisis. Grace Blakeley explains why issuing fines to the ‘bad’ banks won’t do anything to curb the voracious greed upon which our financial system is built.
Long Read: “These Guys Are Either Incompetent or Dishonest” – Betting Against the Bank of England
Ben Tippet and Jack Browne
When it comes to interest rates, the only thing reliable about the Bank of England’s predictions is that they’re consistently wrong. In this week's long read, Ben Tippet and Jack Browne talk to an ex-Citibank insider who bet against the Bank of England's financial forecasts - with lucrative results.
Why Did the Greens Pick Up Votes in the Local Elections?
Caroline Lucas
With all the focus on the fight between the two main parties and Ukip's demise, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that the Greens made impressive gains in last week’s local elections. Green Party Co-Leader Caroline Lucas discusses why this was the case.
Amber Rudd is a Symbol of a Failed, Feral Political Class – Her Resignation Must Be Just the Beginning
Aaron Bastani
While the view among ‘moderate Conservatives’ is that Amber Rudd’s resignation is a blow to progressives everywhere, her track record reveals a mediocre politician with no discernible moral principles. In fact, the Tory party has no progressives at all, argues Aaron Bastani.
New Face at the Home Office, But No New Answers to Knife Crime
Huda Elmi
Sajid Javid is now at the helm of the government’s ‘serious violence strategy’, launched in March to address the UK's knife crime epidemic. But just because he’s the first BME home secretary it doesn’t mean he’ll implement the multi-agency reforms needed to tackle the problem, argues Huda Elmi.
Doctors Send Spoof ‘Go Home’ Van Around Westminster to Protest the Hostile Environment
Charlotte England
Doctors, nurses and midwives gathered outside the home office to demonstrate against the Tories’ attempts to force NHS workers to carry out immigration enforcement duties, as part of an action by charity Doctors of the World, which helps migrants denied access to healthcare.
Hunger For Freedom: Campaigning Against Detention From Inside and Outside Yarl’s Wood
Irene Renny and Tom Kemp
The success of the last Yarl's Wood hunger strike shows that listening to and collaborating with people in detention is an imperative part of building a successful anti-detention movement. What else can the protest teach us about organising against detention and showing solidarity with those inside?
These Five Victories in the Fight for Migrants’ Rights Show We Can Win
Charlotte England
The government backtracked on its demand that schools collect data on pupils’ nationality and country of birth this month, presenting a sudden and startling victory to campaigners opposing the hostile environment. Here are five other key wins in the fight for migrants’ rights in Britain.
Outsourcing Incarceration: Privitisation in Britain’s Immigration Detention Estate
Rudy Schulkind
The private companies that run Britain's detention centres have repeatedly failed to protect the rights, dignity and safety of the people they imprison. But the Home Office has created a system in which it is incredibly difficult to hold them to account.
A Short Guide to Deportation Charter Flights
Phil Miller
Mass deportations on chartered aircraft are only one small part of the UK’s deportation system. But in many ways they are the system’s most violent and terrifying instrument, taking place away from the public gaze in secretive night-time flights.
Britain’s Plan to Build a Prison in Nigeria is Wrong and Must Be Stopped
Natalie Fiennes
As the government unveils plans to build a new prison wing in Nigeria, it’s clear it's not just the Windrush generation affected by a cruel and unjust UK immigration policy.
Refugees in Indonesia and Iraq Condemn Western Indifference
Matt Broomfield
Coverage of the 'refugee crisis' tends to focus on the West, particularly on Europe, but none of the seven countries worldwide to host over half a million refugees are in the EU or North America. Instead, most refugees live on the periphery, confined to squalid, brutal detention centres and stripped of even the scant protection afforded to asylum-seekers on European shores.
“It’s strikes that win”: UCU, Students and the Fight Against Outsourcing
Joe Hayns
Over the last two days, more than 100 outsourced staff have stopped work at UoL in what will likely be the largest outsourced workers’ strike in higher education history.
Domestic Violence or Deportation? The Migrant Women Forced to Choose
Niamh McIntyre
Many migrants don’t have an automatic right to the protections and spaces most in the UK take for granted. For thousands of migrant women who experience domestic violence every year, it can often come down to a difficult choice - stay in an abusive relationship, or risk being reported to the Home Office.
Can America’s Sanctuary City Model Work in the UK? A North London Borough is About to Find Out
Charlotte England
Inspired by the sanctuary cities that refuse to enforce Trump’s racist immigration laws in the US, residents in north London are lobbying their council to defy and oppose Theresa May’s hostile environment policies and make their borough safe for migrants.
Chemical Confusion: From Salisbury to Syria
Ben Tippet and Jack Browne
Accusations about the misuse of chemical weapons are increasingly defining British politics. But the inability to clarify responsibility can lead to conspiracy and propaganda, argue Ben Tippet and Jack Browne.