With the death of Ken Leech, on 12 September from a stroke, we have lost a pillar of the anti-fascist movement. He was always there for the calling on in the struggle against racism – a thoughtful stalwart, a socialist who would stand up and be counted, unafraid of getting his hands dirty from community
Dear IRR News subscriber, At the end of last month, a new planning policy was quietly published which could have devastating impacts for Gypsies and Travellers. As Chris Johnson and Andrew Ryder explain on IRR News this week, it ‘appears that Gypsies and Travellers are being punished for the longstanding shortage of sites and stopping
A fortnightly resource for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM 28 August: The Children’s Society publishes Not just a temporary fix: The search for durable solutions for separated migrant children. Download the report here. 4 September: One person is seriously injured attempting to escape a fire at an accommodation
Chris Johnson and Andrew Ryder write about a new policy for Gypsies and Travellers which was quietly issued at the end of last month. At the end of August the government issued a flurry of statements, such as the dissolution honours list, which included a number of controversial new additions to the House of Lords, and was
We reproduce here a ‘statement of concern'[1] issued by Robin Richardson of Insted Consultancy on ‘School Governors and British Values’ which also touches on the statutory duty to prevent violent extremism now placed on schools and other educational establishments. Summary 1. Several school governors or former school governors in Birmingham have recently received a letter from the
Below we reproduce a personal reflection by Race & Class contributor Phil Scraton. September 11, 2001. The day imprinted on a disparate international collective consciousness. As two planes hit New York’s twin towers, another engulfed the Pentagon in flames and United Airlines Flight 93 plane came down in Pennsylvania en route to its target, I slipped traversing
A monthly calendar for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Immigration and asylum 24 July: The government’s system for monitoring companies it pays to run migrant detention centres is called into question after a year-long Freedom of Information battle wins disclosure of confidential ‘self-audits’. The documents reveal how contractors are paid according to their own monthly performance reports. (Corporate Watch, 24 July 2015) 27 July: The Home Office announces it will
Dear IRR News subscriber, As thousands of ordinary people across Europe offer food, clothing and shelter to the desperate refugees on their doorsteps, while EU politicians squabble about numbers to be accepted, we publish timely comments by the IRR’s Director to a recent meeting of members of the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The Birmingham-based 4WardEver UK campaign and the Mikey Powell Campaign have launched a crowdfunding appeal for a national family support fund for relatives, young people and children affected by deaths in state custody in the UK. The Memorial Family Fund has been set up in remembrance of Mikey Powell and acknowledges the work and campaigning of the late Pauline
Will those from BAME communities be disproportionately affected by the government’s intensive workfare programme for young people? The mandatory three-week ‘boot camps’ planned for 18-21-year-olds claiming out-of-work benefits, outlined last month by Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock, are only the latest salvo in the government’s punitive approach to young people. Set to be implemented next year, they
