10 November 2015
Members of the Portsmouth Green Party joined students and residents at the March for Refugees today. The march protested the City Council's decision to write to Home Secretary Theresa May demanding Portsmouth be removed as a cluster area for refugees.
Ian McCulloch, Green Party candidate for Central Southsea, attended the march and gave the following statement:
"The world is facing the worse refugee crisis since the end of the Second World War, we are seeing far too many people still dying in the desperate hunt for safety. Britain should be taking its fair share of refugees.
Many of these refugees are fleeing situations in which our previous policies of military adventurism have had a significant role. Even today voices in the Conservative and Labour Parties, and elsewhere, are calling for us to add our military might, in a country where so many are raining bombs down, for so many different reasons.
I believe that an increase in refugee numbers would be welcomed by a significant number of the British people, we have seen the emergence of a "community support" spirit and a humanitarian impulse since the crisis began, not least here in Portsmouth where we have seen fund-raising events for refugees, enormous donations of food and clothing being taken to Calais by volunteers.
Yes, we need to focus on the essential work of making a more peaceful, democratic, secure, environmentally stable world. There's much that has to change in British foreign policy with those objectives in mind.
We want to create a world in which no one has to flee their home, whether it be due to persecution, hunger or climate change. We want to create a safe just world.
But sadly, we're a long, long way from that.
In the meantime we should be proud to welcome people who need our help, we should be proud to welcome people who want to be here.
That is what it means to be part of the United Kingdom. It is what it means to be united."
Keith Taylor, Green MEP for South East England, has emailed over the following statement of support:
"Apologies that I can't join you all at today's important event. This gathering is extremely important in highlighting to councillors that the vote against Portsmouth supporting those in desperate need fleeing war and conflict is not the view of all Portsmouth residents and your attendance here today represents the views of the hundreds of thousands of people from across the region.
The recent position of Portsmouth Council is deeply uncomfortable for those of us who consider this country to be a place where those facing persecution can rebuild their lives. We are the voices for humanity and compassion and we must stand up against those who have used the escape from war as an opportunity to demonise desperate migrants taking desperate measures.
I have the great benefit of being lucky enough to be born in Britain but who could say what any of us would do if we are fleeing miserable conditions in unsafe countries. Myself and 14 cross-party MEPs have recently written a letter to David Cameron urging him to take part in the EU resettlement scheme to address the current refugee crisis facing Europe and local action such as today's march for refugees continues to add the pressure.
The current situation highlights that now, more than ever, the UK needs to work within a European-wide framework not only to ensure that those in need of asylum are able to find it, but to address the underlying reasons why people are forced to flee their homes. I hope Portsmouth City Council scraps this motion following the strong public opposition."
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