Record View says if cities like Glasgow are to cope with an influx of refugees, they must be given the resources to deal with the issue.
Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council(Image: Garry F McHarg Daily Record)
Glasgow has led the way in providing sanctuary for asylum seekers for years. The city has provided a safe environment for vulnerable people and many have gone on to work hard and contribute to the life of the country. But new rules pushed through by the Home Office last week are causing havoc in a city that simply wants to help.
In a bid to crack down on asylum hotels, the Labour Government has halved the time refugees granted leave to remain can stay in hotels. That means refugees can only stay for 28 days, down from 56. The switch is motivated by a desire to end an unpopular Tory policy of housing asylum seekers in hotels,
But Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken warned of “disastrous” consequences. Thousands of refugees given leave to remain will not be able to find secure accommodation in such a short period of time and will become homeless. Many will come to Scotland where there is a legal right for single homeless people to get a roof over their heads.
The cash-strapped SNP council in Glasgow is now trying to provide temporary accommodation to thousands of people, while already dealing with a housing emergency. We understand the desire to scrap asylum seeker hotels but the Home Office has not thought this through.
If cities like Glasgow are to cope with an influx of refugees, they must be given the resources to deal with the issue. The Home Office must step in, alongside the Scottish Government, and help Glasgow maintain its reputation as a haven for desperate people who want a better life.
That means extra cash must be made available to make sure our current housing emergency does not become a homelessness catastrophe.
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Farage a chancer
Hotel protests, flags on lampposts and anti-immigrant graffiti have been a growing trend in Scotland in recent weeks. The issue of how we tackle genuine concerns about immigration is at the forefront of our national political debate.
And at the moment, right-wing figures like Nigel Farage are only too happy to play divide and conquer on the issue. By convincing people immigrants are the cause of their problems, he hopes to ride that wave of anger all the way to Downing Street. But at the Trades Union Congress yesterday, general secretary Paul Nowak was a voice of reason in the darkness.
He rightly pointed out true patriotism comes from building a better society for all. It was, after all, the post-war generation that built the NHS and the welfare state amid the ashes of World War II.
He branded Farage and his band of right-wing toadies “conmen”. He is right to call them out. We just hope voters in Scotland also see through Farage’s man-of-the-people act and send him and his party packing at the Holyrood elections next year.