Glasgow Autumn Federal Liberal Democrat Conference was a busy one for LD4SOS.
We were there in force for the consultation session on Immigration, Asylum and Integration, ready to make views known, as in the article below.
We had our Inaugural General Meeting, reported on below, and the next day a very successful fringe meeting organised by the excellent Refugee Survival Trust.
It gave a roomful of conference goers the opportunity to sit down round the table and listen to the stories of a number of asylum seekers and refugees, first hand. We read reports of what is happening, but it is very powerful to hear first hand, and drives us on, to continue with our work in LD4SOS to give those seeking sanctuary the safety, respect and support that they need. We cannot praise enough the work of the organisations in the voluntary sector who do so much in this field – and the many asylum seekers and refugees who work voluntarily in that field, giving back to society.
Our new President Lord Roger Roberts was out and about everywhere giving out his new readable newspaper “Setting the Record Straight”, a must read and must give to other publication.
We contributed to the debates too. Philip Latham spoke in the emergency debate on Syria, calling for the UK to admit Syrian refugees who arrived here, and saying it was our ‘moral duty’ to do so.
Janet King (pictured below)spoke in the debate on Legal Aid about the need for this for those in detention for immigration purposes – and telling the party that they could save money on what was wasted on expensive and unnecessary detention on proper legal aid.
Suzanne Fletcher followed on the same theme, agreeing with Janet, and saying legal fees were needed to pursue issues such as the recent allegations of sexual impropriety at Yarl’s Wood. After speaking against the “Go Home” posters still being up at the Glasgow reporting centre, despite the Home Office saying they were taken down, she ended with the quotation by William K of Detention Action “This fight isn’t about me, it is about everyone”. Quite.