Response from my MP regarding the refugee crisis
This is fairly positive, within the limits of what an opposition backbencher can do:
Thank you for your email regarding the refugee crisis we have seen unfold over the last few weeks.
All too often these issues are picked up by the tabloid press and a lot of misinformation is spread to the British public on what can be a very complex issue.
I agree that the UK needs to do more to support asylum seekers. So far this year, more than 180,000 migrants have reached Greece and Italy by sea (others come from Turkey via the land border with Bulgaria). Of those, only a few thousand make their way overland across Europe to Calais. Other, broader statistics tell a similar story. In the first four months of this year, more than a quarter of a million people claimed asylum in a European Union member state; fewer than 10,000 of those claims were in the UK, although Britain has well over a tenth of the EU’s total population.
This is why I have written an Early Day Motion (EDM 369) to support the refugees fleeing war and persecution which states:
"That this house Is appalled at the humanitarian crisis unfolding on the doorstep of Europe and urges Her Majesty’s Government to honour and follow in the great traditions of the United Kingdom by accepting many more thousands of genuine and desperate refugees caused by the greatest displacement of people since world war two; notes that as part of the Vulnerable Person Relocation Scheme Germany has pledged to resettle 30,000 refugees whilst the UK so far taken fewer than 200; further urges the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to rekindle the spirit of the Kinder-Transport and bring forward innovative ideas like a Voluntary National Homes Register for those citizens able and willing to accommodate the most vulnerable refugees; and finally commends the work of the many of thousands of people from all political persuasions across the country who share a desire to offer refuge and hope to those escaping great hardship, violence and terror from across the world"
I would like to urge you to ask all of your friends who live outside of Cambridge to write to their MP's asking them to back EDM 369.
I can assure you that I will be doing all that I can within my role as an MP to ensure that this issue is dealt with in a fair and compassionate way.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Zeichner
Member of Parliament for Cambridge
@DanielZeichner
www.danielzeichner.co.uk
Thank you for your email regarding the refugee crisis we have seen unfold over the last few weeks.
All too often these issues are picked up by the tabloid press and a lot of misinformation is spread to the British public on what can be a very complex issue.
I agree that the UK needs to do more to support asylum seekers. So far this year, more than 180,000 migrants have reached Greece and Italy by sea (others come from Turkey via the land border with Bulgaria). Of those, only a few thousand make their way overland across Europe to Calais. Other, broader statistics tell a similar story. In the first four months of this year, more than a quarter of a million people claimed asylum in a European Union member state; fewer than 10,000 of those claims were in the UK, although Britain has well over a tenth of the EU’s total population.
This is why I have written an Early Day Motion (EDM 369) to support the refugees fleeing war and persecution which states:
"That this house Is appalled at the humanitarian crisis unfolding on the doorstep of Europe and urges Her Majesty’s Government to honour and follow in the great traditions of the United Kingdom by accepting many more thousands of genuine and desperate refugees caused by the greatest displacement of people since world war two; notes that as part of the Vulnerable Person Relocation Scheme Germany has pledged to resettle 30,000 refugees whilst the UK so far taken fewer than 200; further urges the Prime Minister and Home Secretary to rekindle the spirit of the Kinder-Transport and bring forward innovative ideas like a Voluntary National Homes Register for those citizens able and willing to accommodate the most vulnerable refugees; and finally commends the work of the many of thousands of people from all political persuasions across the country who share a desire to offer refuge and hope to those escaping great hardship, violence and terror from across the world"
I would like to urge you to ask all of your friends who live outside of Cambridge to write to their MP's asking them to back EDM 369.
I can assure you that I will be doing all that I can within my role as an MP to ensure that this issue is dealt with in a fair and compassionate way.
Yours sincerely,
Daniel Zeichner
Member of Parliament for Cambridge
@DanielZeichner
www.danielzeichner.co.uk