For the second interview of Voices from Parliament – a series of cross-party conversations about the government’s latest immigration reforms – we sit down with Olivia Blake, Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam.
A former councillor with seven years of service in Parliament, Olivia has long been a leading voice on the vital importance of family reunion. Read an excerpt of our discussion below or watch the full video interview here.
How are you responding to the government suspension of refugee family reunion?
I'm incredibly disappointed that we have paused family reunion as we know it. We know that nine out of ten applications come from women and children, and that it’s one of the few routes to the UK at the moment. I think it will lead to more arduous journeys and difficulties for women and young people trying to make it to the UK to join their loved ones.
It's only natural that you would want to be with your children and your loved ones, really, and that's why this is particularly cruel. Some people go 10 years without seeing some of their closest relatives, and this was the one route available to them to be reunited. That right to family life is a human right.
What would be your message to the Home Secretary today?
Abandon the pause on family reunion, but also press pause on the [other immigration] changes that they are bringing forward. We've already seen changes to refugee status, which is going to be really harmful for people and for integration too.
We have to refocus on a humane system that's got compassion at its heart, rather than a cruel system that we inherited and making it crueller. Because it shouldn't be right that people who do have a legal right to be here are being treated as if they're criminals. And unfortunately, that is how people are feeling at the moment. And that just isn't acceptable.
We know the government is planning to lengthen the time it would take somebody to reach settlement to up to 20 years, and potentially 30 years. In your opinion, is settlement a right to be earned?
One of the challenges that we do have is that there's a ban on people working. There's no right to work, no recourse to public funds — policies that are really harming families and young people. But what is a contribution? I think that's the question that I really have. If you're a disabled refugee, should you be punished for not being able to work? If you are on a pathway to settlement, is it right that we turn around and change the rules when you've been here for years and you're expecting to get that leave to remain after the fifth year?
The headlines might sound like they’re appealing to a certain group of voters, but I think they are morally reprehensible. Just recently in the by-election, I knocked on a door and a man answered. He had the cutest little 10-week old daughter in his arms. He said to me: “my daughter is a British citizen and it could be 30 years before I have a right to remain in this country”. We want people to be part of our community, not separate in our communities. And I think far too many of these policies are trying to drive separation instead of supporting integration.
What do you think the government should do instead?
I think integration is where we can have a massive impact, whether that's providing better English lessons to people or allowing them to work whilst they're seeking asylum.
And I think many of my constituents want to see people being welcomed here. Whether they're filling a skill shortage or whether they're seeking asylum, I think the community that I represent is very welcoming. That's because we've had really great experiences in Sheffield of people coming to help us with the steelworks in the past. But we're also a city of sanctuary and people see the benefit of welcoming refugees.
That's what is really frustrating about the political sounds at the moments that it's all about driving further division. It’s not just the scapegoating of a community that is the problem, but actually the policies that are now pushing them out of our communities. That is not acceptable and it needs to change.
What do you think the impact of these changes will be on your own constituents?
The system is meant to see you as an individual (…) but too many policies are kind of blanket in their approach at the moment. And we've seen in Denmark, where they've brought in similar policies, but actually haven't actually deported anyone off the back of it. Only a small number, a couple of hundred people have had their status changed after a review.
So, you know, these policies might sound tough, but the reality is that they'll just lead to more people being undocumented, in limbo, not able to return, but not able to stay or rebuild their lives here. And that will continue to put pressure on services rather than allowing people to flourish, get jobs, start families here, open themselves up to the community.
With the backlogs that we have at the moment, this will just add more pressure onto the system because there'll be millions more reviews, which will cost the best part of a billion and, in some estimates, up to a billion and a half of taxpayers' money.
Finally, what would be your advice to people who are concerned about these changes, and want to push back?
I would encourage people to reach out to their own MPs. I've had representations from my constituents about this. And, you know, it's not just about headlines. It's real people's lives. And the more people can reach out and explain what is happening to them, to their Member of Parliament, the more likely we are going to see policy change. Sign petitions, share your experiences – that's really the most valuable way that we will see change.
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