THE NEW URBAN CRISIS: A MANIFESTO FOR THE STATUS QUO

Posted: October 10, 2018 in articles, housing, local government
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If you want to understand the liberal narrative and response to the crisis, this is a readable and clear start. The limitation is that inequality, exclusion, and poverty are seen as growing problems to be solved through reform, rather than leading to the rejection of the economic model.

Read more here.

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Culture of fear: NHS migrant charges risking health of pregnant women

Posted: October 10, 2018 in Uncategorized
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Natasha entered the UK on a student visa after fleeing from sexual and physical abuse in the Caribbean. Despite living in the country for 19 years, her immigration status remains unsettled. Because of this, she is not entitled to free NHS care, so when she suffered a miscarriage in the 19th week of her pregnancy she ended up with a bill of £3,500. She was supposed to attend follow-up medical appointments but was too afraid of occurring further charges to do so.

Read the full story here. 

Eviction nation: The hidden reality of court possession hearings

Posted: October 10, 2018 in articles, housing, social affairs
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It’s 9:30am outside the county court and Mary is about to discover her fate. Before the day is done, 169 people will be evicted across Britain. This grandparent, who has been a housing association tenant for 25-years, is about to find out if she will be one of them.

Read the full story here.

Northampton homeless deaths

Posted: October 10, 2018 in articles, housing, social affairs
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This story was commissioned as part of the Bureau’s Local Reporting Fund – a grant that supports the reporting of untold stories across the UK.

Last winter as temperatures plummeted, a homeless man with learning disabilities found his way to a severe weather emergency facility in Northampton. The cold had already taken effect. The man ended up with such severe frostbite that he had eight toes amputated.

Before getting this emergency care he had tried to gain access to a newly set up night shelter in the town, but was only allowed to stay for one night before being turned away because he had rent arrears at former temporary accommodation.

Read the full story here.

Victoria Derbyshire story – Victims of serious crime face arrest over immigration status

Posted: May 17, 2018 in articles, social affairs
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The latest in my work on the hostile environment. It was amazing to work with Catrin Nye, the team at Victoria Derbyshire and my long-term collaborator on hostile environment issues, Natalie Bloomer, to reveal a truly shocking story.

“More than half of UK police forces are handing over victims of crime to the Home Office for immigration enforcement, new figures show. One woman who was beaten by her partner was then herself arrested by police. There are fears the approach is stopping vulnerable people – including rape victims – reporting crimes, playing into the hands of traffickers.” Read the story here and watch the TV package here.

New Statesman feature: 169 evictions in Britain a day

Posted: April 13, 2018 in articles, housing, social affairs
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For the past year I’ve been working on the issue of evictions in the UK. This piece in the New Statesman should be the first of several on the topic. It looks at the impact of eviction on a single person and her family.

“Iwona is early. She is always early for appointments, including being interviewed by a journalist. This is no easy task. She is a lone parent and a carer to her mother who both has dementia and uses a wheelchair. Iwona works in a supermarket, volunteers at a local food bank, and is studying part time to become a social worker.”

Read the full article here.

Hostile environment series on Politics.co.uk

Posted: September 20, 2017 in articles, social affairs
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The ‘hostile environment’ for migrants is impinging on everyday life for the public and for people in public and (increasingly) private services. Immigration checks at the border have now been extended in housing, education, health, and employment. Natalie Bloomer and I have been looking at the impact on people of these policies and just how far ‘everyday bordering’ has reached into our lives. I’ve been a big fan of Natalie’s work since I read a piece she did a few years back on ‘Baby Banks‘ (like a food bank, but for baby stuff like nappies, wipes, formula, clothes), so it’s a real privilege to be working with her on this. I’ll be adding to this series as we publish more.

Met police hands victims of crime over to the Home Office for immigration enforcement

Sadiq Khan says police are “duty bound” to report victims of crime to the Home Office

Revealed: MPs using immigration enforcement hotline to report people to the Home Office

Big Brother state: How May’s obsession with immigration turned Britain into a surveillance state

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