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Union ally of PM opposes refugee citizenship bar
The Guardian
|February 17, 2025
Keir Starmer's most generous union backer has joined faith leaders to warn Yvette Cooper that new rules refusing citizenship to refugees who arrive in small boats will "breed division and distrust", and could fuel attacks on migrant hotels.
Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, and nine Church of England bishops are among 148 signatories of a letter saying the home secretary's plan to bar naturalisation for anyone who has made a dangerous journey will label tens of thousands of people "second-class citizens".
The letter, shared with the Guardian, says the policy could encourage "a toxic politics" that is "manipulated by the far right to bring hate and disorder to our streets".
There is deepening concern that Starmer's government has adopted a hardline "hostile environment" stance on asylum to fight off a surge in the polls by Nigel Farage's Reform UK.
McAnea, usually thought to be close to the prime minister, heads the UK's biggest union, which was Labour's most generous corporate donor during the 2024 general election, handing over £1.49m.
Signatories of the letter include Rose Hudson-Wilkin, the bishop of Dover and the Church of England's first black female bishop, and eight lord bishops including those from Southwark, Manchester, Gloucester and Leicester.
This story is from the February 17, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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