The Nationality and Borders bill will return to the House of Commons on Wednesday 20 April – MPs will have a chance to approve key changes to soften the legislation.
If it passes without these changes, this bill will represent one of the biggest roll back of refugee rights that this country has ever seen.
This Commons vote brings with it another opportunity to press our MPs to stand for protection not punishment – and vote for our priority amendments.
MPs have already voted on this bill before, so we know who to focus our attention on. Conservative MPs in particular need to hear your voice and recognise that the public is on the side of refugees.
This could be our last chance to make a stand.
1) Write to them today letting them know your views and calling on them to be on the right side of history. We have updated our template letter for you to send to your MP.
2) Tweet your MP. Find your MP’s twitter details here. Make it eye-catching – add a selfie of yourself holding an orange heart, the symbol of solidarity with refugees. Remember to use the hashtag #ProtectNotPunish
Some suggested tweets:
Hi @XXX. If you’re really serious about standing with people from Ukraine, you must vote to #ProtectNotPunish. Be on the right side of history, vote for these amendments to the #BordersBill: https://bit.ly/3vfomdI
or
We should welcome people fleeing Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria & more. But instead the govt. wants to criminalise, detain & deport refugees. The House of Lords rejected these plans – now you @XXX need to do the same. https://bit.ly/3vfomdI
or
Hi @xxxxx, I’m one of your constituents. We’re opening our doors to Ukrainians. Please open your heart & vote to #ProtectNotPunish – refugees need humanity not hostility. https://bit.ly/3vfomdI
April 20th – day of action
To amplify the pressure, we are organising a boat stunt on the Thames in front of the House of Commons. The boat will be adorned with a big banner saying VOTE TO PROTECT NOT PUNISH REFUGEES – so to send a clear message to MPs as they prepare to vote on the Nationality and Borders bill.
We will share film and social media content on the day – please help us by sharing it far and wide, with family, friends and across your social media channels.
We will have some special people on the boat who will also be speaking out against the bill – so keep your eyes peeled!
