Senior faith leaders urge PM to rethink migration rhetoric

Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees joined with representatives of Faith Communities across the UK in an open letter to the Prime Minister, urging the Government to reconsider it’s recent language and approach to migration.

The intervention follows the publication of the Immigration White Paper on Monday 12 May. More than 30 senior faith leaders from across the UK’s Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities have united to expressed their deep concern about both the white paper’s proposals and the rhetoric surrounding its launch

Together, we urged a shift in the Government’s narrative. The Prime Minister’s recent reference to the “incalculable” damage done by uncontrolled migration risks “harming migrant members of our communities and strengthening those who would divide us.”

While acknowledging public concerns around migration, the signatories stress the need for a response which is “principled, and lowers the temperature of the debate, respecting the dignity of all who make up our nation.”

And drawing on their daily work with diverse communities, the leaders emphasise that “real and lasting integration comes through building relationships.” They then urge the Government to adopt a more holistic and positive approach to “fostering good integration”, noting that recommendations from several government-commissioned reviews into integration remain unimplemented.

The letter also calls for a change of direction which prioritises bringing communities together. Signatories stress that: “only by doing so can we actually fix the systemic problems faced by those within our current asylum system and humanitarian protection schemes.”

It concludes by drawing attention to the many voices have been excluded from the debate, but who are “at the sharp end of recent rhetoric”. The letter continues: “These include many from within our own faith communities who have built new homes and lives in the UK, becoming part of our national story and fabric. Our country would be so much poorer without them.”

Full letter text and signatories
Dear Prime Minister,

Re: The Government’s recent rhetoric on migration – our call for a more compassionate narrative

We are writing as faith leaders to ask you to reconsider the language the government uses when discussing migration, following the rhetoric used to announce the Immigration White Paper earlier this week.

Our concern is that the current narrative, which presents only one side of the debate, will only drive public anxiety and entrench polarization. When you refer to the “incalculable” damage done by uncontrolled migration, you are in danger of harming migrant members of our communities and strengthening those who would divide us.

We recognise that there is public concern around migration and what it means for our society, which of course must be addressed. But this must be done in a way which is principled, and lowers the temperature of the debate, respecting the dignity of all who make up our nation. People have come to the UK under the rules set by successive governments, paying whatever fees and surcharges, to work, contribute and pay taxes. Framing this as somehow unfair only feeds the politics of grievance and division.

In our work as faith leaders, we see that real and lasting integration comes through building relationships. It is through sharing experiences that we come to recognise our common humanity. We urge the government to think more holistically and positively about fostering good integration; the recommendations of several government-commissioned reviews into integration remain on the shelf.

In the context of a genuine debate on migration, we are appealing to you to also affirm those things that would bring us together, across our diversity. Only by doing so can we actually fix the systemic problems faced by those within our current asylum system and humanitarian protection schemes. Promoting fair policies that balance the needs of host communities with real opportunities for people restarting their lives after fleeing war, conflict, and persecution is a necessary start.

Finally, we wish to speak up for all those whose voices are rarely heard in these debates but who have been at the sharp end of recent rhetoric. These include many from within our own faith communities who have built new homes and lives in the UK, becoming part of our national story and fabric. Our country would be so much poorer without them.

Yours sincerely,

Iftikhar Ali, Co-Chair, Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society (SABS)

Rabbi Robyn Ashworth-Steen

Imam Qari Asim

The Rt Revd Sarah Bullock, Chair of Trustees of the Council of Christians and Jews

Revd Helen Cameron and Mrs Carolyn Godfrey, President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Bristol

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Chelmsford

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Gloucester

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Guildford

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Leeds

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Leicester

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Lichfield

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Lincoln

The Rt Revd & Rt Hon. The Lord Bishop of London

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Manchester

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of St Albans

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Sheffield

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Southwark

Rt Revd Lord Bishop of Winchester

Rabbi Jeremy Gordon, Rabbi New London Synagogue

Revd. Lynn Green, General Secretary of The Baptist Union of Great Britain

Rabbi Richard Jacobi, East London and Essex Liberal Synagogue

Jill Kent, Justice & Peace Scotland (Scottish Catholic Justice & Peace Commission)

Rabbi David Mason, Executive Director, HIAS+JCORE

Revd Tim Meadows, Moderator of General Assembly, The United Reformed Church

Esther Moodie, Scottish Faiths Action for Refugees

Major Dr Paul Robinson, The Salvation Army

Most Reverend Mark Strange, Primus Scottish Episcopal Church

Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, Senior Rabbi, Masorti Judaism

Rabbi Anna Wolfson, Co-Chair, Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors

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