Don Flynn's blog
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Don Flynn |
The day the immigrants left
February 25th, 2010Strangely charming documentary on BBC1 last night - “The Day the Immigrants Left” - which I flagged up on the MRN Facebook wall a week or so ago. I thought it made a good case that the new economy that has come into existence in places like Wisbech - a small town in rural Cambridgeshire - hasn’t treated the local working class well and there is a whole category of people who have been sealed out of the jobs market.
Immigration debate and local councils
February 16th, 2010This piece in the FT (”Immigration pushes councils to limit“) shows how murky the immigration debate is likely to get in the period ahead. Council leaders in the three areas surveyed – Boston, Peterborough and Slough – all agree that immigration has boosted their local economies and they generally feel good about it. But, they also say that it is placing a strain on local services for which they do not receive adequate compensation from central government distributed taxes.
“Fast and Fair?”
February 9th, 2010Too many migrants are getting a lousy service from the UK Border Agency, according to a report that has just come out today by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Yet bet, and if the office of something as mainstream as this outfit is prepared to be vocal on the issue, then things must be very grim indeed for tens of thousands of regular men and women. Have a look yourself in this pdf of the full report.
A new iron law of public policy debate seems to be emerging.
February 4th, 2010The more politicians proclaim the need for ‘honest conversations’ about immigration policy, the more likely that what follows will be spurious nonsense.
Arguing migration during the general election campaign:How will the issues pan out?
January 19th, 2010The opening shots for GE2010 seem to have come from the Balanced Migration Group – the cross party parliamentary set-up formed to advance the position of MigrationWatch UK. Its “Declaration on Population” proclaims that “70 million is too many”, thereby setting the parameters for a discussion destined to generate more heat than light.
Global Forum Blog
November 6th, 2009MRN’s director, Don Flynn, is in Athens from 1-5 November, attending the meetings around the 2009 Global Forum on Migration and Development.
The GFMD is a unique forum bringing together, in its different components, representatives of official governments and also of key stakeholders from civil society.
Also organising at the GFMD is the People’s Global Action for Migration and Development, an international movement of grassroots migrants’ rights organisations working to support the rights of all migrants across the globe. Don will be talking to key activists working in these networks and will report their views on how the debate is developing in his report.
Mayor of London and migrant regularisation
June 22nd, 2009The Mayor of London’s office published its long-awaited report yester, (16 June) on the Economic impact on the London and the UK economy of an earned regularisation or irregular migrants to the UK. Not the punchiest of titles, but an example of doing what it says on the tin….
European elections: What message for immigration?
June 8th, 2009Watched the results coming in until 1:30 last night, and the reporting on the outcomes from 7:30 this morning. Depressing though it was, my thoughts are that the election of two BNP and 13 UKIP MEPs have more to do with the disintegration of the centre left camp than a powerful ideological shift to the hard right.
Launch of MRN new report on Irregular Migrants
June 5th, 2009It was a relief to get a good turnout for our meeting in Parliament last Tuesday (the 2nd) for the launch of our new briefing paper, Irregular Migrants: the urgent need for a new approach. The decision of the Parliamentary authorities to switch us one day before from Portcullis House to Westminster Palace is not good for the nerves and we had visions of losing half of our audience in the security queues!
The ‘Strangers into Citizens’ rally - 4th May 2009
May 13th, 2009The ‘Strangers into Citizens’ rally in support of a regularisation programme for
undocumented migrants on the May Day Bank Holiday was a great success, with a
reported 10,000 turning out in support. One of its strongest features was the
strength of the involvement of people from migrant communities in the parade along
Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. Banners from Polish community organisations were
lined up alongside Brazilian and Chinese groups. I saw a small crowd of Somali
women exchanging leaflets with Filipino activists, and no doubt finding that,
as migrants, they have an awful lot in common.