Migrant rights campaigners claim victory as “brutal and immoral” motion withdrawn at Labour conference
Campaigners from the Labour Campaign for Free Movement have claimed victory after an anti-migrant motion was withdrawn at Labour conference. The Border Security Command motion would have effectively endorsed many of the immigration policies of the outgoing Conservative government, committing Labour to deporting more asylum seekers, more quickly; designating more countries as “safe” in order […]
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“Trade unions must vote down anti-refugee motion at Labour conference”: statement launched by Black members in UNISON Time for Real Change
Photo by Rasande Tyskar, CC BY-NC 2.0 The statement below was initiated by Black Members in Time for Real Change, the left grouping in public-sector union UNISON, campaigning against the ‘Border Security Command’ motion at Labour Party Conference 2024. It was originally online here. More than 500 members of many different trade unions signed. Before […]
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‘Border Security Command’ motion: vote against!
We are speaking to union and local party delegates at Labour Party conference, asking them to vote against the ‘Border Security Command’ motion on the agenda this week. Get in touch now to help us leaflet and lobby the conference – let’s stand up for safe routes and sanctuary! The Tories created one of the […]
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Conference fringe: what next for the fight for migrants’ rights in Labour?
On Sunday 22nd September, the Labour Campaign for Free Movement will be holding a fringe to Labour Party conference in Liverpool. When: 6pm, Sunday 22nd September Where: The Botanist pub, Chavasse Park, L2 9SQ What: In the aftermath of Keir Starmer’s visit to Rome – where he praised Italy’s neo-fascist government for its “remarkable […]
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Defend Migrants’ Rights: Protest at Labour Conference
On Sunday, 22nd September at 1pm, we’re calling on all supporters of migrants’ rights to join us outside Labour Party Conference (outside the ACC building on Liverpool’s Kings Dock; map here) to protest the Labour leadership’s shameful plans in government announced by Yvette Cooper on August 21st. We refuse to let the Labour Party pander to the […]
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Campaigners to protest Labour conference in response to “disgraceful” migrant plans
Labour members have slammed the government’s plans to ramp up deportation and detention of migrants. In an announcement released today, Yvette Cooper has pledged to increase immigration detention capacity at Haslar and Campsfield immigration removal centres; increase the number of deportations; and to target migrant workers. The Labour Campaign for Free Movement, which has organised […]
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Put migrants’ rights on the agenda at Labour Conference 2024
The Tories gave the UK one of the nastiest border regimes in Europe, and Labour has so far failed to combat this agenda. At Labour Party conference 2024, Labour Party members have an opportunity to turn the tide. To make that happen, we need as many constituency parties (CLPs) to submit the Contemporary Motion below […]
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Sign the open letter: Labour must stand for migrants’ rights
Sign our call below for Labour to stand for refugees and all migrants’ rights as it takes power. Download a physical sign-up sheet to gather support in your community, workplace, local party meetings, union branch and among canvassers on Labour campaign events. Fourteen years of Tory rule have compounded decades of hostile policy to give […]
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Border regime “empowering abusers”
New data has exposed how police continue to report domestic abuse survivors and victims to immigration enforcement. The government’s independent Domestic Abuse Commissioner (DAC) obtained figures showing that, between April 2020 and March 2023, police reported 537 victims and survivors to the Home Office after they came forward for help.
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Labour conference 2023: back free movement & migrants’ rights!
From the end of free movement to the onslaught against refugees, we are living through the biggest attack on the rights of migrants in modern UK history. The Tories’ agenda is about dividing working-class people, pitting us against one another, and scapegoating migrants for the injustices of neoliberalism and austerity. Yet so far, Labour’s leaders […]
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“We need human solidarity”: report from Kalamata after deadly shipwreck
Dozens, possibly hundreds, of migrants have been killed after a ship capsized on Wednesday in the Mediterranean. This was no natural disaster – rather, it was the deadly result of European states’ border regimes. Campaign supporter Pete Radcliff has sent us a short report from Kalamata, where survivors are being housed. In Kalamata, the 102-104 […]
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Labour Conference 2023: help us win a policy for free movement & migrant rights
The situation for migrants’ rights in the UK is dire and becoming worse. Free movement has ended, harsh visa regimes help bosses to intensify exploitation, and the government is criminalising refugees. We need Labour to take a clear and unapologetic stand for solidarity and migrants’ rights. Labour should be campaigning persuasively, as soon as possible, […]
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Ask London representatives to sign: no to immigration raids in our public transport system!
Please urge your councillors, London Assembly Members, and MPs – of all parties – to sign this letter to the Mayor of London! Find your councillors, assembly members and MP via writetothem.com. If your local representatives are Labour, propose that your Branch or Constituency party calls on them to support it. Loading…
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New model motions for Labour & union CLPs & branches – December 2022
As the Tories continue to escalate their brutal war on migrant rights, it is vital that we organise the labour movement – our party and our unions – to fight them tooth and nail. We cannot simply rely on our leaders to do this from the top, and increasingly we need to directly challenge their […]
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Local Labour activists challenge Rachel Reeves’ pro-deportation rhetoric
After Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves' recent comments criticising the Conservative government for supposedly implementing too few deportations, members of her local Labour Party (Leeds West) have written to her in protest. In their letter, they criticise her failure to clearly oppose the government's "inhumane, illegal and racist" anti-migrant policies, and argues for the next Labour government to instead "turn the page on the nationalist, authoritarian and racist approach of the Tories'". They invite her to discuss the issues with them in the democratic forum of CLP meetings.
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Rachel Reeves is wrong to call for ramping up deportations
On October 4th, during an interview for Sky News, Labour Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves responded to Home Secretary Suella Braverman's inhumane asylum policy by asking her to ramp up the deportation of asylum seekers. This stance from someone senior in the Labour leadership is very disappointing.
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Campaigners push for radical immigration policy at Labour Party conference
For immediate release Campaigners push for radical immigration policy at Labour Party conference Motion to be put to party conference calling for a progressive immigration policy Keir Starmer faces battle with grassroots activists seeking to hold him to his pledge to defend free movement Motion would commit to free movement, end of immigration detention and […]
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India: class struggle and solidarity
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Lotika Singha & Praveen Kolluguri, India Labour Solidarity In India, a struggle is raging between working people’s organisations and Indian capitalism’s economic and political elites. The 2020-21 farmers’ battle against the Modi government’s pro-corporate agricultural reforms was one of the largest recent battles. In […]
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Let Us Vote: For A True Universal Franchise
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Alex Fernandes, Tooting CLP In 2019, through considerable effort from the Labour Campaign for Free Movement, one of the most radical and progressive motions on immigration was debated and passed (nearly unanimously) on Labour conference floor. It was a turning point – a demonstration […]
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Rising up against raids: workers and communities have the power
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Abel Harvie-Clark, Unite & UVW Member Border enforcement has been evaded, subverted, and resisted for as long as it has existed. Evading detention and deportation has been a necessary act for many migrant communities looking to live a dignified life in the UK, and […]
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Migrant workers – fighting and winning!
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Abel Harvie-Clark, Unite & UVW Member Any history of the labour movement in Britain over the last 60 years would be lost without the contribution of migrant workers’ struggles; the same is true, likely more so, of the labour movement in this country today. […]
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Free Osime Brown: lessons of the campaign
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 In June 2021, it was announced that Osime Brown would not be deported following a long campaign led by his family. Here, we reflect on that success. The first thing to say about the campaign to save Osime Brown from deportation is that it should […]
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Migrant nurses: exploited and abused
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By a health worker Foreign nurses are being exploited by the NHS and private health care organisations. They also face severe financial difficulties, are exposed to unregulated landlords, and are left vulnerable to bullying due to the restrictive conditions of their contracts. Thanks to the […]
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Why Feminists Must Support Free Movement
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Rayah Feldman (Feminist Fightback, an anticapitalist feminist collective) Immigration control has always affected men and women differently. The whole notion of immigration controls has long been predicated on the idea of marriage and a family with a male breadwinner and dependent wife. As long […]
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No recourse: how more than a million are denied access to social security and basic services
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Ben Tausz, Camden Unison As inflation bites, our battles to raise wages, benefits and emergency support become even more acute questions of dignity, basic wellbeing, and survival. Yet for the 1.4 million people affected by “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF), equal access to […]
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Ending immigration detention – a moral imperative
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Emma Jones, Oxford West & Abdingdon CLP I won’t forget my first sight of Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre. I was there in the privileged position of observer, rather than detainee, but it was still a shock, particularly the height of the fences (20-foot-tall […]
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The Nationality and Borders Act: what does it mean and what should we do?
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Zoe Gardner In the wake of the passing of the Nationality and Borders Act (NABA), activists need to understand the backbone of hostility that runs through the government’s migration agenda and maintain our focus on positive alternatives in the face of a scatter-gun assault […]
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After Brexit: why free movement is still the right demand
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 The end of free movement represents the biggest erection of borders in our recent history. Until 2021, all European citizens had the right to live and work in the UK, and British nationals could do the same across the EU. The realities of hard Brexit […]
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“Solidarity or Barbarism”: Nadia Whittome MP
This article appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 By Nadia Whittome MP It’s a strange state of affairs when Boris Johnson’s departure as Prime Minister is greeted with anything other than relief. But here we are, yet again facing what’s shaping up to be the most ruthless, hardline government in decades – for […]
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Migration mythbusters
These mythbusters appeared in our magazine for Labour Party conference 2022 Myth #1: “Can’t we just have a humanely-run system of border controls?” Myth #2: “People fleeing poverty, war and environmental destruction don’t need the right to move, they need an end to the problems forcing them to leave” Myth #3: “Free movement is a […]
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Immigration Raids in the Workplace: RMT Members Fight Back
In October 2021, border cops carried out an immigration raid inside Walthamstow Central London Underground station. Some of those detained included London Underground workers, who were seemingly racially profiled. RMT’s Piccadilly and District West branch subsequently passed a resolution committing to seek links with the anti-raids movement to campaign against immigration raids in the workplace. One of the activists who proposed the motion shares their reasons for doing so below. The text of the motion follows.
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Outsourcing Europe’s borders & its crimes
Murder, rape, enslavement, torture, abductions and imprisonment by terrorist militia: this is the violence used against refugees and migrants at the European borders since 2015. The UK has played an important role in shaping the relationship between the EU and other actors in states such as Libya, Niger and Sudan. These groups are funded by the EU to terrorise refugees and migrants fleeing prosecution, war, famines, poverty and European generated climate change and climate disasters.
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Final countdown to Labour conference: help us get free movement discussed
The situation for migrants’ rights in the UK is dire and becoming worse. Free movement has ended, claiming asylum is being criminalised, and refugees are being deported to Rwanda. The Tory Party leadership campaign has been a bidding war for racist border controls. At the moment, Labour is saying and doing very little about this […]
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Organising our campaign together: your chance to input at LCFM’s 2022 conference
One of the most important things we want from the event is for all of us, as LCFM supporters, to have the chance to contribute to the campaign going forward. Throughout the day, we'll be having practical discussions about the issues and campaigning, which will feed into the work of our Steering Committee and the working groups you will be able to join. And towards the end of the day, we've set aside some time to discuss and vote on two things:
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Join our National Conference on 16 July
Join the Labour Campaign for Free Movement for a national gathering to decide our next steps to fight for a socialist immigration policy
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Labour Conference 2022 must vote for migrants’ rights and free movement – support our motion
As the Conservative government continues its assault on migrants with its outrageous anti-refugee Nationality & Borders Bill, it’s as important as ever that Labour stands firm and fights for a positive alternative of workers’ solidarity, free movement and workers’ rights. In 2019, our campaign led the way to Labour’s annual conference voting for the clearest, […]
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As Russia attacks Ukraine: Open the borders, welcome refugees.
Use the tool linked here to find your MP and other elected representatives, and send them this statement As we witness Russia’s assault on Ukraine, our thoughts and solidarity are with the victims of this war. The conflict ongoing since 2014 had already displaced hundreds of thousands. Now, Russia’s invasion is forcing many more to […]
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Global free movement would improve everyone’s lives: Nadia Whittome MP & Zoe Gardner
Nadia Whittome MP and JCWI’s Zoe Gardner have written in openDemocracy, making the case for global free movement – take a look. Global free movement would improve everyone’s lives Migrants’, workers’ and human rights activists have been forced onto the back foot. Here’s how we fight back Free movement is seen as an unworkable position […]
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PRIORITY LABOUR MOTION 2021: FOR SOLIDARITY AND INTERNATIONALISM: TOWARDS A SOCIALIST IMMIGRATION POLICY
Below is the Labour Campaign for Free Movement motion for Labour Party Conference 2021 – as written jointly by us, Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants, and the Momentum branches in Oxfordshire, Stevenage, Watford, Three Rivers and Hertsmere. If you haven’t already submitted a motion to your Constituency Labour Party for this year’s annual […]
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Oppose Government offshore asylum seeker processing plans
The latest move in the Tory government’s war against migrants – the floating of proposals to remove asylum-seekers to camps in remote locations, hundreds or thousands of miles away, while their claims are processed – is once again an outrage against human rights and the values of rationality, compassion and solidarity. It has been condemned […]
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“Migrants welcome: end deportations and the racist Hostile Environment”: support this motion in Momentum’s Policy Primary!
Voting in Momentum’s policy primary starts this Wednesday – support our motion! During the Momentum Policy Primary process, the Labour Campaign for Free Movement worked with the local Momentum groups in Watford, Oxfordshire and Stevenage, and Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSM), to write the joint motion: “Migrants welcome: end deportations and the racist […]
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Don’t let the pandemic block EU citizens’ Right to Stay!
This week Right to Stay campaigners published a report, authored by Labour Campaign for Free Movement Steering Committee member, Alena Ivanova, showing that the EU workers may lose their right to live in the UK, after returning home mid-pandemic. Please read the full Independent article here. An estimated 1.3 million foreign-born residents left the UK […]
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Dismantle the Hostile Environment: vaccines for all!
Long before we even had developed and working vaccines (thank you, science!), we knew we would have a fight on our hands to ensure fair and equitable distribution globally. With the UK and other developed nations essentially pre-ordering enough vaccine batches to cover their populations many times over, campaigners were mobilised around demands […]
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Open letter against the deportation of Osime Brown – let’s keep up the pressure!
More than 100 public figures have signed an open letter against the deportation of Osime Brown, which as they rightly say, ‘would be a grotesque indictment of our justice system’. Prominent signatories to the letter include former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Labour peer Lord Dubs, writer and director Stephen Poliakoff, authors Neil Gaiman, Mark […]
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Update on the Justice for Osime Brown Campaign – including model motion
Following mass pressure – including over 297,000 petition signatures – last week, Osime Brown celebrated his birthday at home with his family. This only happened because of the pressure of his campaign, however, the fight is far from over. Despite being out of prison, his deportation order still stands. We need to fight to get […]
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Our party and movement must back the right to stay
From June 2021, the rights of over 3 million migrants in the UK are in jeopardy, and without a guaranteed right to stay, will have their legal right to live and work in the UK terminated. All major opposition parties have now backed the campaign to introduce a guaranteed right to stay for EU citizens, […]
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What do the government’s proposals for ‘points-based immigration’ really mean?
By Dan Davison, activist with the Labour Campaign for Free Movement On 13 July, the Home Office released a 130-page policy paper titled ‘The UK’s Points-Based Immigration System: Further Details’. It provides additional information on the immigration system the Government intends to introduce when EU freedom of movement ends in the UK in January 2021. […]
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Scrap NRPF – Social Security for Migrants – June 2020 campaign call
“No Recourse to Public Funds” (NRPF) is a condition imposed on many migrants with and without visas or leave to remain, denying them access to the social safety net – to social housing and many other benefits. The results are inhumane, unjust and serve to divide and undermine workers – we believe Labour must pledge […]
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Immigration Bill third reading – tell Starmer & his team to take a stand
The Tories’ racist Immigration Bill is returning to the House of Commons for its third reading on Tuesday 30 June. Unless the House of Lords then tries to amend it, this will be the last chance for MPs to discuss and vote on the Bill. For a more in-depth briefing about what the bill will […]
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Momentum NCG candidates pledge to campaign for freedom of movement and migrants’ rights
As part of this year’s internal elections to Open Labour and Momentum, and we have reached out to all candidates to pledge that, if elected within their respective Labour Party organisations, they will campaign to put into action the migrants’ rights and free movement policy that received an almost unanimous vote from delegates of local parties, […]
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Open Labour candidates pledge solidarity, equality and free movement for migrants
As part of this year’s internal elections to Open Labour and Momentum, and we have reached out to all candidates to pledge that, if elected within their respective Labour Party organisations, they will campaign to put into action the migrants’ rights and free movement policy that received an almost unanimous vote from delegates of local parties, […]
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COVID-19: quarantine not border closure
By Andi Brookes It’s Friday 13 March 2020. The UK has 789 confirmed cases of COVID-19. It is still 10 days away from a national lockdown that will stay in place for seven weeks, effectively shuttering large swathes of society. And the government has just removed the Foreign Office advice that travellers from Wuhan, Northern […]
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Urgent: act now to kill the Immigration Bill!
The Tories are trying to rush through their racist new Immigration Bill under the cover of the pandemic. The next stage of debate in Parliament has been announced at short notice as next Monday 18 May! We’re calling on the Labour leadership and MPs to oppose the Tories’ xenophobia by standing up for the alternative: […]
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#KillTheImmigrationBill – campaign call with Nadia Whittome MP & Zoe Gardner
A recording of our Zoom call from 21 March: we discussed the Tories’ new anti-migrant policy and the Immigration Bill 2020 which they are pushing through Parliament to enact it. We had briefings from Nadia Whittome MP and Zoe Gardner, a policy expert from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, and then supporters […]
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Email your councillors: Covid-19 and migrants
It will come as no surprise to many of us that migrants have been largely ignored in the Government’s response to the Covid-19 crisis. The same dehumanising immigration rules, destabilizing at the best of times, now threaten to cast millions of migrants into destitution – conditions that will persist long after the virus has passed. […]
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Anti-migrant policies worsen COVID-19 dangers
Ben Towse, Labour Campaign for Free Movement The harsh regime of hostile policies imposed on both documented and undocumented migrants living in this country is already a racist scandal. Now, with the spread of COVID-19, these policies put migrants at increased risk and could exacerbate the public health crisis. Labour, our unions and our movement […]
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Sign the statement: stand up for free movement, equality & solidarity against the Tories’ new immigration bill
BREAKING: The Tories are trying to rush the bill through under the cover of the pandemic. It’s coming back to Parliament on Tuesday 30 June – so take action now! Join MPs, trade unionists, campaigners and grassroots members from across our movement by signing this statement. Then use our quick tool to write to the […]
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Email Labour leader & deputy candidates to ask for their views
Send a message to all Labour leader and deputy leader candidates who have not yet responded to our questions about free movement. (See the questions and responses so far.) Thanks to all the supporters who called for the candidates to respond, all of them have now done so! We have therefore closed this tool. Check […]
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Questions for the contenders: responses so far
On January 13, we emailed all leadership and deputy leadership candidates with eight questions about immigration policy. You can find the questionnaire here. We have now received responses from all the candidates, which you can read below. Candidates for Leader Rebecca Long-Bailey Lisa Nandy Keir Starmer Candidates for Deputy Leader Rosena Allin-Khan Richard Burgon Dawn […]
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Questions for the contenders: Labour’s leader and deputy election
Last September, members, trade unions and affiliates at Labour Party conference voted nearly unanimously to adopt our socialist, anti-racist policy in favour of migrants’ rights and free movement. Now, members need to hear from the candidates vying to become Labour’s new leader and deputy leader. Will you champion these policies? What would you do for […]
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Labour candidates pledge solidarity, equality and free movement for migrants
Dozens of Labour candidates for parliament, including David Lammy, Tulip Siddiq and Paul Sweeney, have pledged that if elected, they will put into action the migrants’ rights and free movement policy that received an almost unanimous vote from delegates of local parties, trade unions and affiliates at September’s Labour Party conference. More continue to add […]
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To prevent the next Windrush scandal, the next Labour manifesto must commit to dismantling the Hostile Environment in full
By LCFM organiser Emma Jones When the Windrush scandal broke in April last year, the nation was rightly appalled. But really, we had no right to be shocked. The horror of Windrush was not, after all, the sudden revelation of a parallel world of state-sponsored destitution, detention and deportation: this had existed for years, in […]
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Propose our new motion for local Labour branches, CLPs & affiliates
After the victory of our motion at Labour Party conference next month, it’s time to take the campaign for free movement and migrants’ rights back to the grassroots of the labour and trade union movements. The whole party needs to be ready to fight for our policy at the next election, which might be just […]
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Lewisham Council signals end to denial of free school meals to children of migrants
This week Lewisham Council took another step closer to its promise of becoming a sanctuary borough for migrants, committing to a campaign backed by NELMA (North East London Migrant Action) and LCFM (Labour Campaign for Free Movement) calling for free school meals for all who need them, regardless of immigration status. Tonight @LewishamCouncil agreed that […]
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Labour conference passes our policy for free movement and migrants’ rights by a landslide
On the last day of Labour conference 2019, the party’s members, unions and affiliates voted near-unanimously to approve the policy motion we submitted. The motion declares that our next manifesto should pledge to maintain and extend free movement, and to advance migrants’ rights by closing all detention centres, extending equal voting rights to all UK […]
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Social security for everyone! Abolish No Recourse to Public Funds
Written by Ben Towse, member of Camden Unison “No Recourse to Public Funds” (NRPF) is a condition imposed on many migrants with and without visas or leave to remain. NRPF denies them access to a social safety net – to social housing and many benefits. The results are inhumane, unjust and serve to divide and […]
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Decrim Now!
This article – an interview with Amina du Jour, Decrim Now activist and member of United Voices of the World union, featured in our Labour Party conference special magazine, which you can find in full here: https://www.labourfreemovement.org/lab19-magazine-from-the-labour-campaign-for-free-movement/ Decrim Now are calling on the UK government to support the full decriminalisation of sex work. For more […]
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Labour MPs say: let migrants vote!
In a time of unprecedented attacks on democratic rights, Labour MPs have today called for all UK residents, including migrants, to be given equal rights to vote. This urgent appeal, reported tonight in The Independent, is backed by TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes, and activists from campaigns which have played a prominent role in the […]
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#Lab19 magazine from the Labour Campaign for Free Movement
For Labour Conference 2019, we’ve put together a magazine covering some key issues and news from the campaign. Get your copy free at #Lab19 – and if you agree, help us at conference to spread the word and win a radical pro-migrant, pro-worker, internationalist socialist policy for Labour. Volunteer by contacting 07895405312! Articles include: Clive […]
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Clive Lewis: Labour must fight for free movement at the next election
The 2017 general election was an incredibly exciting time. I was proud to campaign on a manifesto full of promises that just a few years earlier would have been derided as fantasies and wish lists laughed out of the party – the abolition of tuition fees, nationalisation of water and the railways, free childcare and […]
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National Meeting 2019: What we decided
This Sunday, on the 7th of July, took place our national meeting. It was a productive day filled with vibrant debate, informative workshops and planning ahead. We heard from a range of inspiring speakers and discussed topics such as fighting the Immigration Bill, closing detention centres, resisting the hostile environment in public services and scrapping […]
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Organising our campaign going forward – your chance to input at our National Meeting
There’s still time to register to attend our National Meeting on 7 July in London! Nearly 150 supporters from around the country are already signed up and we have a packed agenda of workshops and discussions. One of the most important things we want from the event is for all of us as LCFM supporters […]
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Agenda for our July 2019 National Meeting
We’re pleased to be able to share the agenda for our National Meeting, which is coming up soon on 7 July! There’s still plenty of time to register to attend. Hope to see you there! 10:30-11:00 Registration 11:00-11:45 Introductory speeches 11:50-12:50 Workshops: 💥 Social security for everyone: scrap NRPF 💥 Shut them down: campaigning against detention […]
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Send our motion to conference: Labour must stand for free movement, equality & solidarity
LCFM’s motion for Labour Party Conference 2019 We want this year’s Labour conference to commit our party to a strong and principled stance: to defend and extend free movement of people and migrants’ rights. The first step is getting our CLPs (Constituency Labour Parties) to vote to submit this motion (scroll down) to conference. Remember: […]
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National Meeting: Labour Campaign for Free Movement
National meeting for all Labour members and supporters who support freedom of movement and migrants’ rights When? 10:45-17:30 Sunday 7 July 2019 Where? SOAS, London, WC1H 0XG Free/donation to attend Around the world and here in the UK, the racist right-wing is on the march with its project to raise borders and attack migrants’ rights. […]
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Unionised medical students say defend and extend free movement
Earlier this month, the British Medical Association’s Medical Students Conference voted overwhelmingly to campaign not only to defend free movement, but to extend it to all workers regardless of nationality. Giancarlo Bell, who proposed the motion as a delegate from Glasgow (which you can read below), explains why. Giancarlo Bell, Labour, Momentum, Campaign for Socialism […]
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“Let Us Vote” – an equal political voice for migrants!
Today sees the launch of a new campaign, Let Us Vote. It calls for full voting rights for migrants resident in the UK, as well as UK citizens living abroad, in all future elections and referendums. Years of attacks on migrant rights, from detention centres to the Hostile Environment and now the threatened end of […]
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Press release: London Labour vows to resist Hostile Environment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4 March 2019, London London Labour votes to resist the hostile environment locally and nationally, including campaigning against No Recourse to Public Funds and removing embedded immigration officers from councils “Labour must fight to put an end to these cruel and racist policies once and for all,” say campaigners Delegates at London […]
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No child should go hungry: free school meals and ending “No Recourse to Public Funds”
“No Recourse to Public Funds” (NRPF) policies, which deny many migrants access to a social safety net – to social housing and many benefits – are inhumane, unjust and serve to divide and undermine workers. One of their many impacts is that the children of migrants subject to NRPF cannot access means-tested school meals. Many […]
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London councils & the Hostile Environment – fringe meeting @ London Labour conference
The Hostile Environment is having a disastrous effect on London communities. In particular, NRPF (No Recourse to Public Funds) denies some of the most vulnerable people access to a social safety net – to social housing, to many benefits, and to means-tested school meals for their kids. Although migrant families may [...]
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Kill the Immigration Bill – day of action 1 March
Migrants Welcome - Kill the Immigration Bill - Defend & Extend Free Movement - The Immigration Bill currently going through Parliament is a brutal attack on migrants. It will end free movement of people between the UK and Europe, subject them to the same racist Hostile Environment already faced by non-European migrants, and [...]
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Tell your MP to campaign for free movement
Following last night’s second reading of the Tory Immigration Bill, we are calling on all Labour MPs to oppose it in its entirety and speak out in defence of free movement. If you live in a Labour constituency, contact your MP today and tell them to join our campaign. You can find your MP’s email using this tool and you can use our model email below - feel free to add a personal touch, for instance, your personal reasons for supporting free movement. And see our article here for more actions you can take.
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Unison Black Members’ Conference votes to fight for free movement
Congratulations to Unison's Black Members' group, whose conference last week voted through strong policy to fight for free movement and migrant rights, and to push for a policy shift in Labour to support the same. You can read the policy below.
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Labour activists force frontbench U-turn against Immigration Bill
Tonight (Monday 28 Jan) the House of Commons voted 297 to 234 for the second reading of the Tories' Immigration Bill. This means that it progresses to the committee stage for potential amendments before a final vote to pass it into law.
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Against the hostile environment in local government: motion to London Labour Conference
We’re pleased to report that last night (10 Jan) Lewisham Deptford CLP voted by a large majority to send the following motion to London Labour regional conference. The motion was written by local migrant rights campaigners and tackles hostile environment and barbaric anti-migrant “no recourse to public funds” measures in local government. The same motion […]
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Unite members stand up for free movement after Gen Sec’s comments
As Unite members, we are concerned by recent reports that our union General Secretary, Len McCluskey, has privately told Labour MPs that we – his members – want them to vote for a Brexit that clamps down on immigration. We are proud members of a diverse union that brings together workers of all origins to fight […]
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Close every detention centre – sign the open letter & join the protest
As many as 30,000 migrants every year are imprisoned in the UK’s detention centres. A system that imprisons people who have committed no crime, while the government decides what to do with them, is an affront to socialist Labour values of democracy, justice and freedom. What’s worse is that sexual abuse, racist violence and inadequate healthcare […]
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“No child should go hungry in our schools”: model motion for NEU Annual Conference
Appallingly, many children who need them are denied free school meals on the basis of their parents’ migration status. We’re working with North East London Migrant Action (NELMA) to support their campaign demanding free school meals for every child who needs them. Labour should commit to ending this and other injustices related to “no recourse […]
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Border policies: a union-busting weapon for Tube cleaners’ bosses
Becky, London Underground worker & RMT activist In 2008, cleaners on London Underground in the RMT struck for a living wage, sick pay, holiday pay and greater dignity in their working lives. Cleaners voted by 99% in favour of strike action; they saw this as an opportunity to halt the cleaning companies’ culture of sexual […]
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Press release: Labour conference votes overwhelmingly to defend free movement of people with Europe
Press release: Labour conference votes overwhelmingly to defend free movement of people with Europe FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Liverpool, 25 September 2018 Migrant rights campaigners welcome new policy as ‘major first step’, say there is still a long way to go Proposal condemns May’s Brexit plans for threatening free movement, rejects blaming migration for social problems […]
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Breaking: Edinburgh Central CLP submits emergency migrant rights motion
Breaking: Edinburgh Central CLP submits emergency migrant rights motion We’ve just heard that local members in Edinburgh have sent the emergency motion below to Labour Party conference! The campaign has arrived at conference and we’ll be out talking to attendees from Sunday morning onwards – to join the team and volunteer a little time, sign […]
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Local activists send free movement motion to Labour Party Conference 2018
Local activists send free movement motion to Labour Party Conference 2018 Great news from Stevenage Labour Party, where local activists who support the Labour Campaign for Free Movement have passed a motion to send to this month’s party conference! This gives party members a chance to democratically to decide on firm policies for the Labour […]
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Show your support with a t-shirt or a tote bag!
We’ve created a range of t-shirts and tote bags – with a design from one of our fantastic supporters – to help spread the word about the campaign. In response to the right-wing lies that blame migrants and free movement for low wages and exploitation, help us say #BuildUnionsNotBorders! And we’re splitting the proceeds equally […]
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PCS union votes to support free movement
PCS union votes to support free movement By a PCS conference delegate PCS Conference today overwhelmingly passed policy re-affirming the union’s commitment to free movement. In proposing the composite motion, General Secretary of PCS Mark Serwotka described how free movement – not just across Europe but the world – should be a principle of the […]
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London Young Labour backs free movement
London Young Labour, the representative body for all Labour members under the age of 27 in London, has voted to endorse free movement, explicitly agreeing to work with the Labour Campaign for Free Movement. The motion was passed on Saturday 3rd February at the hundreds-strong AGM, and went through almost unanimously. The motion is as […]
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Join our migrant network
Join our migrant network There are thousands and thousands of migrants in the Party and the wider labour movement, and as the campaign for a progressive migration policy for Labour kicks into gear, it’s vital that they have a leading voice in the campaign. So, are you a migrant? If so, please sign up to our […]
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Campaigns rally opposition to the ‘hostile environment’
Campaigns rally opposition to the ‘hostile environment’ Don Flynn, Labour Campaign for Free Movement The toughening stance of government around the roll-out of ‘hostile environment’ policies is generating stiff resistance from migrant support networks who are fighting against the increased risk that people are being deprived of opportunities to work, rent accommodation, enrol children at […]
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Model motion for Unite Policy conference
Unite’s fifth policy conference will take place in 2018, and we want to make free movement a big topic of debate. If you’re a Unite member, get your local branch to submit our model motion below. Defend the rights of all workers – for an agenda of hope and solidarity This conference notes the debate […]
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Unlocking Detention: A two month-long ‘virtual tour’ exposing the scandal of immigration detention in the UK
Unlocking Detention: A two month-long ‘virtual tour’ exposing the scandal of immigration detention in the UK The Unlocking Detention (#Unlocking17) ‘virtual tour’ of the UK’s immigration detention facilities has been underway since mid-October and will conclude on 22nd December. It is taking place at a time of heightened interest in the way the UK detains […]
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Freedom of movement and the rights of labour: A reply to David Pavett
Freedom of movement and the rights of labour: A reply to David Pavett Don Flynn, a spokesperson for the Labour Campaign for Free Movement and former director of the Migrant Rights Network, has written at Left Futures in response to arguments within the left against free movement: “David Pavett’s attack on the newly-formed Labour Campaign […]
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No more triangulation: only an unapologetic defence of migration will do
Ben Towse, Labour Campaign for Free Movement Labour’s unprecedented turnaround in this summer’s election should have been the final nail in the coffin for the strategy of responding to the right with triangulation. For too long, received wisdom has urged us to moderate our vision and our message, to approach right-wing sentiments by offering fudges […]
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The Tories’ Home Office is pricing migrants out
The Tories’ Home Office is pricing migrants out Gwyneth Lonergan, Huddersfield CLP In April of this year, the Conservative government updated the fees being charged to apply for different visas, as well as naturalisation. In most cases, the fees were increased at least slightly, and for some applications, the increase was substantial. The cost of applying […]
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Immigration detention: The hidden truth of a cruel system
Immigration detention: The hidden truth of a cruel system Eiri Ohtani, coordinator, The Detention Forum ‘I had no idea such a thing existed’ is a frequent response I get from the very people who have heard about immigration detention for the first time. For those who haven’t experienced it directly, this is a reality that […]
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Free movement set to dominate Labour conference debate as new migration report released
New report, backed by MPs and unions, recommends a system of “free movement +” – with a raft of new measures to safeguard workplace rights Labour Party conference set to debate motion on free movement submitted by Young Labour and constituency parties from across the country Experts and campaigners warn of Tory agenda to create […]
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Momentum Members’ Council backs fight for free movement
By Vicki Morris, Momentum Members’ Council The newly formed members’ council of Momentum met on Saturday 9 September in Manchester to choose and develop the organisation’s tasks for the next six months. Most of the tasks identified related to the structure and working of either Momentum or the Labour Party, but one policy area was […]
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Join the fight for free movement
Join the fight for free movement One of our campaigners, Ana Oppenheim, has written today for The Clarion: The Labour Campaign for Free Movement was launched in early August by a broad coalition of Labour Party members and supporters. We aim to defend and extend freedom of movement. That includes people, like myself and The Clarion, […]
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Yanis Varoufakis calls on Labour to back free movement
Yanis Varoufakis calls on Labour to back free movement Yanis Varoufakis, the economist, campaigner for European democracy, and former Greek finance minister, has written today for the New Statesman arguing that Labour should embrace and champion the right to free movement of people. “Labour has left open the option of permanent membership of the single […]
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Round-up: articles from migrant rights campaigners this week
Round-up: articles from migrant rights campaigners this week A number of outlets have published articles from progressive migrant rights campaigners, including one of our spokespeople Ana Oppenheim: take a look below and give them a share! Labour should champion free movement indefinitely, not just for a “transitional period” by Ana Oppenheim, spokesperson for the Labour […]
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Press Release: Labour Campaign for Free Movement responds to Keir Starmer’s Brexit and Single Market proposals
Press Release: Labour Campaign for Free Movement responds to Keir Starmer’s Brexit and Single Market proposals ***** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***** In response to Keir Starmer’s announcement that he would back continued membership of the EU single market beyond March 2019, the Labour Campaign for Free Movement has affirmed its commitment to defending and extending […]
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Ending EU free movement won’t help non-EU migrants like me
By Raquel Palmeira, Hornsey & Wood Green CLP The first time I heard someone argue that they wanted to dismantle free movement within the EU because of their concern about how it discriminated against non-EU migrants, it was a UKIP politician on TV, on election night 2015. As a non-EU migrant myself, I wasn’t exactly […]
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Pregnant women bear brunt of government’s clampdown on ‘migrant’ NHS care
Pregnant women bear brunt of government’s clampdown on ‘migrant’ NHS care This article appeared on openDemocracy on 4th March 2016. We are republishing it to highlight the impact of anti-migrant NHS policies on pregnant women. Rayah Feldman is a researcher and campaigner with the charity Maternity Action, and chair of Hackney Migrant Centre. by Rayah Feldman, Maternity Action […]
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Cameron’s ESOL Funding Cuts Reflect the Government’s Attitude to Migrants [from 2016]
Cameron’s ESOL Funding Cuts Reflect the Government’s Attitude to Migrants (from 2016) by Dermot Bryers and Alice Robson This article appeared on Novara Media on 28th January 2016. We are republishing it to highlight the impact of the brutal cuts to ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) education funding since 2010 and their relationship to […]
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Ian Hodson: Our union backed Brexit, but that doesn’t mean scrapping freedom of movement
Ian Hodson: Our union backed Brexit, but that doesn’t mean scrapping freedom of movement Ian Hodson, National President of the BFAWU, has written for the New Statesman about his support for the Labour Campaign for Free Movement: “Our union backed Brexit, but that doesn’t mean scrapping freedom of movement “We can only improve the lives of […]
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Free movement: a working class right
Free movement: a working class right By Joshua Lovell, Labour County Councillor for Old Stevenage This article appeared on Cllr Lovell’s blog on Monday 7th August 2017 Lexit: An Inconvenient Fallacy The referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union opened up rifts in society that may take years to heal. Probably the single […]
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1905 and all that: How the labour movement debated Britain’s first immigration control
A 1906 cartoon protesting against barriers to refugees and migrants By Daniel Randall The debate now taking place within the labour movement in Britain over free movement has profound parallels with one which took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries around the introduction of the “Aliens Act”, the first modern immigration control. […]
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Put free movement on the Labour Conference agenda with our Contemporary Resolution
Put free movement on the Labour Conference agenda with our Contemporary Resolution Labour Party Conference – our movement’s chance to debate the issues facing us today and decide the way forward for our party – is fast approaching. We want this year’s conference to commit our party to defending migrant rights, and defending and extending […]
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Bigotry seeks company in the UK
Bigotry seeks company in the UK By Warwick Historians This open letter was originally published on openDemocracy on 19 December 2016. The original list of signatories can be viewed there. Our republication is not intended to indicate that all of them support the Labour Campaign for Free Movement. We historians at the University of Warwick […]
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Why Labour must campaign for free movement
by Ben Towse & Raquel Palmeira This article appeared in The Clarion on Wednesday 9th August 2017 Not long ago, defence of migrants, the right to cross borders to live and work, and the project of lowering, not raising, borders, were common sense for most of the left. Blaming migrants for the problems facing working […]
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Manuel Cortes: The Enemy Is The Elite Boss Class, Not The Migrant Worker. We Must Not Be Afraid To Say This — Loud And Clear
Manuel Cortes: “The Enemy Is The Elite Boss Class, Not The Migrant Worker. We Must Not Be Afraid To Say This — Loud And Clear” Manuel Cortes, General Secretary of the TSSA, has written for LabourList about his union’s support for the Labour Campaign for Free Movement: “There is a debate taking place within our movement […]
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MPs, trade unionists and party activists urge Labour to retain free movement
MPs, trade unionists and party activists urge Labour to retain free movement FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New initiative backed by politicians and Labour movement figures calls for “clarity, humanity and solidarity” in party’s immigration stance Trade unionists and workplace activists call for better workers’ rights, not border controls Free movement hailed as best policy for protecting […]
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Free movement isn’t a plot to undermine workers’ rights – it is essential to them
Free movement isn’t a plot to undermine workers’ rights – it is essential to them by Nick Dearden This article appeared on the Independent website on Tuesday 1st August 2017. After a week of telling Americans how free and open the world should be, it might seem a little inconsistent that the following weekend Trade Secretary […]
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Why ‘Socialist’ Arguments Against Free Movement Don’t Add Up
by Gwyneth Lonergan, Huddersfield CLP This article appeared on Novara Media on Thursday 16th February As the country debates what form Brexit will take, it has become common in parts of the liberal-left to argue that European freedom of movement must be abandoned for ‘socialist’ reasons. The argument goes that large numbers of EU workers in the UK […]
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Most Leave voters back free movement – you just have to explain it
Most Leave voters back free movement – you just have to explain it by Michael Chessum This article appeared on the New Statesman website on 20th July 2017 This week, a piece of YouGov polling flipped on its head a widely held belief about the public’s attitude to immigration in the context of Brexit. The headline question […]
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The working class case for free movement
The working class case for free movement by Don Flynn This article appeared in the Morning Star on Tuesday 17th January The idea of a right to free movement is cursed by its association with the European treaties which have as their objective the creation of an unfettered market in which all goods, services and […]
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The Posted Workers Directive: a red herring?
by Petros Elia, General Secretary,United Voices of the World union In light of recent debates on Freedom of Movement (FoM) and the Posted Workers Directive (PWD) here’s my tuppence worth. The PWD is definitely a gift to the bosses which brings no benefit to workers either from the host or home country and should be […]
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The left’s reasons for ditching freedom of movement are profoundly wrong
The left’s reasons for ditching freedom of movement are profoundly wrong by Michael Chessum This article appeared on the New Statesman website on 17th October 2016 The idea that mainstream politics has failed to talk enough about immigration has become an idea so entrenched in British political life that it is almost impossible to challenge. And […]
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