I am a trustee of Southampton & Winchester Visitors Group (SWVG) and am delighted we have joined a new coalition, Together with Refugees. With over 100 other organisations, we call for a better approach to supporting refugees that is kinder, fairer and more effective.

How we treat refugees is about #WhoWeAre. If we feared for our lives, we’d want to know that others would help us to safety. Together, we are calling for a better approach to supporting refugees that is more effective, fair and humane. This means standing up for people’s ability to seek safety in the UK no matter how they came here. And ensuring people can live in dignity while they wait for a decision on their asylum application. 

It means empowering refugees to rebuild their lives and make valuable contributions to our communities. And it means the UK working with other countries to do our bit to help people who are forced to flee their homes.

New government proposals abandon people fleeing war and persecution. We’re calling for a more humane approach to people seeking protection in the UK. Two in three women and children that the UK accepts as refugees now, would be turned away under proposed new government rules. Read more here.