Dr Louise Tomkow is a Geriatric Registrar in the Northwest deanery and a PhD researcher exploring migration and health at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, The University of Manchester. Dr Rebecca Farrington is a General Practitioner working with asylum seekers and refugees and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester. In their blog they highlight how: […]
Our system for housing asylum seekers is failing, we must do better
In light of this week’s report into Asylum Accommodation by the Home Affairs Select Committee, Dr Jonathan Darling, who submitted expert evidence to the inquiry, responds to its findings and suggests a way forwards. Asylum accommodation is currently provided through six regional contracts with three private providers There have been reports of substandard and inappropriate […]
A shared Britain – refugee policy for 2017
To start the year, Dr Jonathan Darling, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography specialising in the politics and ethics of forced migration, and Gulwali Passarlay, Afghan refugee, politics graduate and author of ‘The Lightless Sky’, reflect on how government might support asylum seekers and refugees in 2017. Together, they discuss the challenges of the last year […]
Out of Africa: Asylum seekers, Europe and the ‘capacity to aspire’
Recent debates about Europe in light of the EU Referendum have centred heavily on two main issues – immigration and the economy. To mark Refugee Week, which seeks to celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK, Tanja Müller argues that EU asylum and refugee law is making unfair distinctions between countries, and that the […]
The use of hotels is a sign of failing asylum accommodation policy
With news of the hotel chain Britannia accommodating up to 300 asylum seekers in a hotel in Manchester, Dr Jonathan Darling argues that this reliance on hotels demonstrates a failing asylum accommodation policy. The hotel, in Northenden, has been used by the private contractor Serco to house asylum seekers as part of the UK’s dispersal […]
Busting the male migrant myth – why the facts need to speak for themselves
Men, mainly young and single, make up the majority of migrants coming into Europe in the recent crisis. But the negative portrayal of young migrant men in popular debates does not tally with the picture that emerges when you interview them, says researcher Jon Spencer. Stereotypes Failing in education, demonstrating inappropriate sexual behaviour and having a […]
Refugee crisis: An open letter to David Cameron and Teresa May
Academics Rob Ford and Maria Sobolewska have written an open letter, reproduced below and signed by 365 people, asking Prime Minister David Cameron and Home Secretary Teresa May urging them to do more to help the thousands of refugees currently trying to make their way across Europe. Rt Hon David Cameron MP 10 Downing Street London […]
What role might cities play in UK asylum policy?
Government policy towards asylum seekers is being challenged. Dr Jonathan Darling asks if this should become part of the debate on the devolution of powers. Disagreements between local authorities and the Home Office over asylum seeker dispersal numbers and arrangements have a long-standing history in Britain. Yet recently they have garnered greater media attention due […]
Snakes and Ladders: the challenge of regularising immigration status
Anti-immigration parties gained support in the European elections, but politicians’ real challenge is to reform a system that treats undocumented migrants unfairly, argues Dr Claire Fox. Despite the election rhetoric and growing support for anti-immigration politicians, the number of undocumented, ‘irregular’, migrants in the UK probably fell in recent years. Increasingly tough immigration policies and […]