A local councillor has urged other councils in Teesside to follow Middlesbrough in taking a stand against government anti-refugee laws.
Matthew Storey, councillor for Middlesbrough Central and parliamentary office manager to MP Andy McDonald, told The Teesside Lead he has witnessed the negative impact of government hostility toward refugees and asylum seekers playing out in the local community.
Last week he proposed a motion that Middlesbrough Council should refuse to cooperate with government plans to detain refugees and asylum seekers in unsuitable accommodation in the region such as warehouses or barges.
“We are a very diverse town and have a proud history of taking in people in from different countries,” Storey told The Teesside Lead. “We’re a town built on immigration and we wanted to pass this motion to show solidarity with asylum seekers and refugees who are very vulnerable in society. We wanted to show support for them and make sure they know that they’re welcome.”
The council passed the motion at the meeting on 27 March and condemned the government’s “anti-refugee policies” including the 2023 Illegal Migration Act and the 2022 Nationality and Borders Act.
Charity Asylum Matters, who the council worked with to bring the motion, say the laws “allow the UK Government to criminalise and punish, rather than protect, people seeking safety” and pave the way for the creation of warehouse-style refugee camps on UK soil.
Middlesbrough Council has also joined Newcastle, Birmingham, Bristol, Coventry, Ealing and Oxfordshire councils in signing Asylum Matters’ pledge to: defend the right to seek safety from war and persecution in the UK; speak out against attempts to criminalise and punish those who make their own way to safety; challenge the anti-refugee laws which will risk the lives and well-being of people; and work towards a refugee protection system that treats all people with dignity and compassion.
“Middlesbrough town centre has one of the biggest concentrations of asylum seekers in the North East and probably in the country so I’ve done a lot of work with them and had a lot of interactions with them in my ward,” said Storey.
“These laws demonise people who are coming here for a better life for themselves free of torture, oppression and persecution. Everyone deserves that. But they suggest they are a problem in our area where actually asylum seekers cause very few issues. The major issues are cost of living and a lack of funding for public services. Those are the things that impact on people's lives every day.”
Last summer Teesside locals blocked ministers from housing asylum seekers on a cruise ship moored in Teesport, near Middlesbrough. More than 200 locals, representatives and charities signed an open letter to port operator PD Ports “not to take any part in plans to create a floating prison on the Tyne”.
It pointed out that the use of similar facilities in other countries have resulted in human rights violations and humanitarian crises, with a typhoid outbreak and reports of mistreatment and deaths on ships in the Netherlands.
The Bibby Stockholm, a barge used to house asylum seekers in Dorset, has frequently made the headlines with problems including a suspected suicide on board in December. Deadly legionella bacteria was also discovered onboard, and the Fire Brigades Union celled it a “potential deathtrap” after it was reconfigured to accommodate twice the number of people it was originally designed for.
PD Ports ruled out allowing the ship’s mooring the day after the letter was sent, saying there would not be “appropriate support for such accommodation”.
Storey says that while there are no signs of introducing other warehouse-style accommodation for asylum seekers or refugees locally at this point, passing this motion sends a clear message that the council will stand against any future moves to do so.
“This motion says this shouldn’t happen. Asylum seekers deserve suitable accommodation while they are here and this type of housing is not fair or reasonable,” Storey said.
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