Engage your MP

With a new UK Government and Parliament, we have a real opportunity to secure a fair new plan for refugees.

The Government has just introduced new legislation on refugees, and it will be up to us to ensure that MPs understand the depth and breath of support within our communities.

The legislation's narrow focus on measures to ‘crack down on the people smugglers’ is unlikely to succeed even in its own terms of cutting the numbers of people crossing the Channel in small boats. And at its worst it risks prosecuting desperate people for trying to find safety in the UK.

There are welcome hidden reforms in the Bill on issues the refugee rights movement have been calling for - the ending of indefinite child detention, scrapping of the Rwanda Act and removal of the pause on processing asylum claims.

But this legislation, as currently drafted, is a huge missed opportunity to create a compassionate and effective system that works for refugees and local communities. That’s why we are calling for a fair new plan for refugees that upholds the right to claim asylum in the UK, delivers a proper strategy of welcome, and supports positive international solutions including safe routes to refugee protection.

With the new legislation and 335 new MPs in Parliament, there's an opportunity to shift ground on refugee issues. Now is a crucial time to build a connection with your local MP and encourage them to support the Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise to reject hostility and stand in solidarity with refugees.

Whether you have a few minutes to send an email, a few hours to plan an activity or want to go all-in and meet with your MP to discuss the Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise, there are ways for you to make a difference.

Contents:

1. Send a Valentine's Day card

Contacting our MPs is important - but we all know that MPs receive a lot of letters.

A handwritten Valentine's Day card is a way to stand out and show your MP how many people in our communities support and welcome refugees.

Make your card

Write a card asking your MP to sign the Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise. As a reminder you can find out more about the Promise, our call for a fair new plan for refugees and tips for engaging your MP here.

Get creative with your card, whether that's making your own from scratch or updating a card from the shops.

How about including a short poem:

Roses are red

Violets are blue

We want a fair new plan for refugees

And you should too

Gather signatures and support

You can send a card as an individual or on behalf of your group or organisation. You can also ask other groups or individuals in your community to get involved by joining forces.

Deliver your card

You can send your card/s in the post, or deliver them in-person on Valentine's Day itself.

💡 TIP: Organise an activity and get creative with your Valentine's Day cards

If you are feeling inspired, you can organise an activity or event around your card to your MP.

It could be a closed activity – like a card-making craftivist session for your own contacts or group like a local school, refugees you work with, place of worship or a gathering of allies at your workplace.

The key thing is to get creative and make bright, colourful, visually engaging cards - and use the orange heart symbol 🧡 and #TogetherWithRefugees messaging.

Make sure you take photos of all the messages and, where possible, the people who made them. These can be shared on social media.

Encourage every individual who took part to post the message they wrote on their own social media. Use the #TogetherWithRefugees hashtag on any platform so we can find and share your posts.

Email your MP

If you don't have time to organise card-writing or meet with your MP, have no fear! An email to your MP is still an impactful way to make your voice heard.

This tool to makes it straightforward to email your MP, with a customisable template message.

Write to your MP

Or, you can email your MP directly by customising and sending the copy below. Consider adding something about one of the following in the beginning of the letter:

If you are writing as a representative of a local organisation or group, specify the group you represent and their connection to refugees or specific issues they work on
If you are writing in your individual capacity, share who you are and why you care about this issue
Experiences you’ve had or heard about, whether you have experienced the UK asylum and immigration system yourself, have friends or family who have or work with refugees in a professional or volunteer capacity

You can also tailor the letter based on the position of your MP, if known. For example, thanking them for past supportive stances.

Template letter

Dear [MP name],

I’m reaching out, as one of your constituents, to urge you to support a fair plan for refugees by signing Together With Refugees’ Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise: https://togetherwithrefugees.org.uk/fair-begins-here-parliamentary-promise/

Our current asylum system is broken. It is uncaring, costly and chaotic. The UK can and must do better.

The new Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill takes some positive steps, including the repeal of the Rwanda Act, the end of indefinite child detention and the removal measures in the Illegal Migration Act that prevented people from having their asylum claims processed.

However, the Bill’s narrow focus on measures to ‘crack down on the people smugglers’ is unlikely to succeed even in its own terms of cutting the numbers of people crossing the Channel in small boats. And at its worst it risks prosecuting rather than protecting desperate people trying to find safety in the UK.

I believe the Bill is a missed opportunity to modernise the asylum system and create a compassionate and effective system that works for refugees and local communities. That’s why I am calling for a fair new plan for refugees.

I’m asking you to advocate for that system, both while this Bill is active, and in the years to come. One meaningful way to start is signing the Fair Begins Here Parliamentary Promise.

The Promise is a commitment to taking action to secure an asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate. Signing the Promise is a concrete way to stand together with refugees, and with your constituents who are calling for a better system.

Will you consider signing the Parliamentary Promise?

1. Read the pledge at: https://togetherwithrefugees.org.uk/fair-begins-here-parliamentary-promise/

2. Sign it by emailing Together With Refugees at info@asylum-reform-initiative.org.uk

It would mean a lot to myself and others in our community to know that you stand with us.

Sincerely,

Fair Begins Here Local MP Engagement

Writing a Valentine's Card or sending an email is the perfect first step to engaging with your MP as part of the Fair Begins Here campaign. If you're up for doing more, our Local Engagement Toolkit walks through everything you need to begin building a long-term relationship with your MP.

From bringing together community members, to requesting a meeting with your local MP to engaging with the press, the Fair Begins Here Local MP Engagement Toolkit is full of top tips and resources including template letters, press releases and social media content.

With new legislation, it is vital that we show politicians across all parties that the majority people in the UK want a kinder, fairer and more effective approach.

See the toolkit

Fair Begins Here Local MP Engagement Toolkit.pdf

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