Catalogue Number
NMLH.2025.3.2
Object Name
leaflet
Title
'Dear Home Secretary, are you looking for a policy which ticks these boxes? Lifts people out of poverty, benefits the economy and society, is popular with the public, enjoys cross-party support, improves people's well-being. Lift the ban'
Place
UK
People
Refugee Action, Home Office
Description
A blue leaflet styed like a postcard. The front asks 'Dear Home Secretary, are you looking for a policy which ticks these boxes? Lifts people out of poverty, benefits the economy and society, is popular with the public, enjoys cross-party support, improves people's well-being. Lift the ban'.
The campaign wants to remove the ban on asylum seekers in the UK being legally allowed to work. Under current law, people applying for asylum are not allowed to work. They receive an allowance of £7 a day, which is not enough to cover essentials. As asylum cases often take years to be heard, this campaign argues that it is not just immoral as it plunges asylum seekers into poverty, and sometimes puts them at risk of exploitation by unethical employers, but it is also an impractical use of public funds - if asylum seekers could legally work, they would be able to support themselves, and also pay taxes rather than being supported by the government.
This leaflet was part of a campaign called 'Lift the Ban' organised by Refugee Action as part of a coalition of charities, trade unions, businesses, faith groups and think tanks. It has not yet been successful, and is ongoing. This style of leaflet leaves space for people to personalise the template with their own thoughts, which can often add more weight to a campaign than only having signatures, as it shows the strength of feeling in respondents.
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