Dear Friends,

On behalf of Together with Refugees who we support as a coalition member, please join us for our Valentine‘s Day action. 

Many of us are concerned at reports that refugees are being used as scapegoats in the current political battles raging at Westminster, while intense work lobbying peers continues as the Lords prepare to scrutinise the anti-refugee bill at Committee Stage from the 27th January. On this we latter point we have some good news to share.

Our amendments backed!

Together with Refugees are delighted that Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate, a former Conservative immigration minister, has supported their amendment for the UK government to set a target to resettle at least 10,000 refugees.

Together with Refugees still have a chance to win concessions from the Government on the bill as well as build resistance to the Government’s plans for the longer term. That’s why your further action to press MPs is vital ahead of the bill returning for its final stage in the Commons towards the end of March (TBC).

Together with Refugees continue to work with parliamentary leads across the coalition to secure cross party support for amendments and to ensure MPs are given their own chance to vote on them by pressing for and winning votes in the House of Lords.

Ahead of that, it’s critical we urge MPs to oppose the Government’s plans both publicly and privately and work to bring them on-side to our amendments, should the amendments make it to the House of Commons.

So, we’re using Valentine’s Day to call on MPs to get behind the two amendments and to send a strong signal to Ministers. Coalition members can support this vital stage of the campaign.

Send a Valentine’s Day card with a twist

Send (or even better) present a card to your MP that shows the strength of local support for a more compassionate approach to refugees. The card calls on MPs to take action and offers three simple ways to support our amendments. Here are some ideas for how to do this and suggested messaging.

In this folder we’ll share card designs, updates on the amendments and a media and social media toolkit to help publicise your action.

For more details about the work of Together with Refugees visit www.togetherwithrefugees.org.uk