Voices from Parliament: in conversation with Pete Wishart MP
Safe Passage International is launching a new series, Voices from Parliament: conversations with MPs from across the political spectrum about the government's new immigration reforms, and what they mean for people seeking safety in our country.
Today we're talking to Scottish National Party MP Pete Wishart, who represents Perth and Kinross-shire and has been a consistent voice in fighting for refugee rights. Dive into our conversation below or watch the full video interview here.
How are you responding to the government's plans to end the right to family reunion as we know it?
Well, I think it's simply appalling. This is a well-established principle that families are able to join people who secured refugee status. That has been the way we've approached these issues for a number of years. And to lose this as such a critical time, to see people fleeing violence and oppression to be denied access to the process, is just simply awful.
The government has also suspended refugee family reunion, a vital safe route, while claiming they are committed to safe and legal routes. How do you make sense of that?
It's just utterly bizarre. They keep on talking about increased safe routes, but we're not seeing any of them. None of this is happening at all. And surely the safest thing you could do for people to come to this country is to reunite them with their families. Allow them the opportunity to have a family life. That's the safest route possible, and I just cannot understand why this government has made such a big play of all of this.
What would be your message to the families who are directly impacted by these changes?
I wish I had words of encouragement and comfort for people who are caught up in all this. Unfortunately, I can't find them because we're dealing with a Home Office culture that is making life as miserable as possible for the people who have managed to come here. But this is a highly quickly evolving political situation, and there will be opportunities to challenge some of these things.
We've got a Labour government trying to triangulate and go on to the ground of the far right without any success whatsoever. But Labour were roundly defeated [in bi-elections]. Reform were defeated too. Progressive and liberal alliances are being formed just now. And so I'm hopeful that something could come out of it yet.
It's thought that millions of people will be impacted by some of these changes. What will be the impact on your own constituents?
We all hear the magic word 'integration', and this is what the government says it seeks to achieve – making sure that people become part of our communities and have a valuable place within this. But you can't help with integration when you’re asking refugees to have their right to remain in the UK reviewed every 30 months.
There is no investment into the future for those people who are going to be subject to such a regime. It just makes life decisions so much more difficult – things like education or trying to get a proper career. If you're an employer, you're not going to employ somebody who may be thrown out of the country after 30 months because the Home Secretary has suddenly decided that the country they came from is now safe. So it makes life so much more difficult for everybody – for those trying to plan a meaningful life in the UK, and for employers.
We know that the Home Secretary has drawn inspiration for some of these policies from Denmark. What’s your take on that?
Denmark is nothing like the United Kingdom. We're a former colonial power where we have a huge attraction from people around the world. We've got the English language that people aspire to and come to this country because they actually speak English and feel it would be easy for them to settle. We're not like Denmark at all in that regard.
And I would just say ever so gently to the Home Secretary, have a look at the government in Denmark. They aren't doing particularly well and are predicted to lose lots of seats because of some of the policies they've put in place. People are looking for other things now.
Lastly, do you think there are lessons from Scotland that Westminster should be learning from?
We've got very limited powers and responsibilities when it comes to immigration. According to our devolved powers, we're responsible for ensuring that people are integrated and settled. And it's a responsibility that my colleagues take very seriously. We've got a range of policies that we enact in Scotland to ensure that refugees get he support that they require. So yes, I would encourage them to look at this.
And what we always say in Scotland is that we're a small country, with a small population, with a big landmass. We're not full up. We need people to come. We're at the very edges of depopulation in Scotland. The immigration policies that are in place in the UK are probably directly opposite to what we need as a nation to grow and have a settled community. We [SNP] are one of the few who are positive about the impacts and effects of immigration and how this is a social good. And that's something that we will continue to do.
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