Citizens UK are leading on a campaign to settle the status of anyone who calls the UK home.
What is the campaign?
With the coronavirus pandemic highlighting deep underlying inequalities in Britain, the campaign emphasises that there are people in our communities, and our friends across the country who call the UK home but are continuously in lockdown. They cannot fully participate in public life, the economy, or in our communities.
Lockdown has also shown that the best parts of Britain are stepping to support each other. The campaign wants to continue “building on this we can create a kinder, fairer Britain. And that starts with settling the status of people without documents in our communities”.
We have neighbours across the country who call the UK home, like Citizens UK leader, VK, who says:
“For some of us, lockdown wasn’t new. Undocumented people are always in lockdown. We cannot fully participate in public life, in the economy, or in our communities. We cannot breathe.”
Thousands of people, like VK, live under constant stress because of their status. They are unable to work and access vital support. That’s why Citizens UK are calling on the UK government and the Prime Minister to #SettleOurStatus.
What is the aim of the campaign?
In 2008, Prime Minister Boris Johnson committed to address this issue and in his first week of Prime Minister’s Questions. Johnson said:
“I do think we need to look at our arrangements for people who have lived and worked here for a long time unable to enter the economy, unable to participate properly or pay taxes without documents – we should look at it.”
If we are looking to ‘Build Back Better’, it is vital that we involve everyone who calls the UK home to be part of that and enable them to participate fully in British life. The EU Settled Status scheme provides a model for enabling people to gain status and shows that if there is commitment, we can achieve this and enable our neighbours and friends to achieve status. Citizens UK are asking the Prime Minister to keep his promise.
How can I help?
The campaign has attracted nearly 6,000 signatories of the open letter and ever 10,000 views of the video released to highlight the campaign.
To find our more and sign the open letter, visit the link below to add your name alongside thousands of other people: