Support Asylum-Seekers!

Stop Serco Lock-Changes & Evictions!

As Labour Party and trade union activists in and around Glasgow we condemn Serco’s recently announced policy of lock-changes on asylum-seeker accommodation.

We fully support campaigning, including non-violent direct action, to prevent implementation of that policy. We therefore welcome:

- Statements by elected Labour politicians to that effect.

- The emergence of a network of organisations and activists across Glasgow committed to ensuring that no evictions take place.

- Steps already taken by the Scottish Labour Party encouraging members to attend anti-Serco protests and to help prevent evictions from going ahead.

Campaigning in defence of asylum-seekers should be part of a broader transformation of our Constituency Labour Parties into campaigning organisations – rooted in our communities and local workplaces, and standing alongside of them in their struggles.

We therefore urge Labour Party and trade union members to mobilise in defence of asylum-seekers threatened with eviction, not just in the political arena but also on the streets.

All signatories in a personal capacity:

Richard Leonard (Scottish Labour Party Leader and Central Region Labour MSP)

Veronica Bolan (UNISON delegate to Shettleston CLP)

Harry Blackwood (Shettleston CLP Trade Union Liaison Officer)

Philip Braat (Anderston/City/Yorkhill Labour Councillor)

Davie Brockett (Unite delegate to Provan CLP)

Elizabeth-Anne Callaghan (Rutherglen CLP Secretary)

Paul Carey (Drumchapel/Anniesland Ward Labour Councillor)

Martyn Cook (Anniesland CLP Trade Union Liaison Officer)

Linda Croker (Shettleston CLP Women’s Officer)

Stan Crooke (Shettleston CLP Secretary)

Jacqueline Diamond (Shettleston CLP, Glasgow Labour Local Campaign Forum)

Tom Dickson (Provan CLP Social Media Officer)

Anna Dyer (Maryhill and Springburn CLP Women’s Officer)

Angela Feeney (Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Motherwell and Wishaw)

Leah Franchetti (Shettleston CLP Vice-chair and Campaign Co-ordinator)

Maria Fyfe (Maryhill and Springburn CLP, Glasgow Labour Local Campaign Forum)

Diarmaid Kelliher (Kelvin CLP Campaign Co-ordinator)

Matt Kerr (Cardonald Ward Labour Councillor)

Martin Lennon (Rutherglen Central and North Ward Labour Councillor)

Stephen Low (Glasgow South Side CLP)

Helen McFarlane (Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Shotts and Airdrie)

Robert Mooney (Canal Ward Labour Councillor)

Paul McNally (Kelvin CLP Secretary)

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Region Labour MSP)

Jim Matheson (Cathcart CLP Ethnic Minorities Officer)

John McKee (Kelvin CLP Vice-Chair)

Aileen McKenzie (Springburn/Robroyston Ward Labour Councillor)

Jonathan McQuade (Shettleston CLP Youth Officer)

Vince Mills (Kelvin CLP Trade Union Liaison Officer)

Jim Monaghan (Labour Party Community Organiser, Glasgow)

Suzannah Murning (Labour Party Community Organiser, Glasgow)

Kate Shaw Nelson (Kelvin CLP Chair)

Keiran O’Neill (Maryhill and Springburn CLP Secretary)

Frieda Park (Cathcart CLP Women’s Officer)

Jordan Pfotenhauer (Kelvin CLP Executive Committee Member)

Kieran Pradeep (Kelvin CLP Ethnic Minorities Officer)

Thomas Rannachan (Shettleston CLP, Glasgow Labour Local Campaign Forum)

John Reilly (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse CLP Chair)

Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East Constituency Labour MP)

Samantha Wilson (Kelvin CLP former Women’s Officer)

Rhea Wolfson (Almond Valley CLP Chair, and Labour Party National Executive Committee)

Mary Fee ( West Scotland Region Labour MSP )

Ged Killen (Labour MP for Rutherglen & Hamilton west)

Sign up to take part in pickets at short notice where people might be facing eviction – register your contact details at: https://www.livingrent.org/serco

To invite a speaker to a CLP meeting to discuss Serco’s treatment of asylum-seekers, contact the Asylum-Seeker Housing Project, which has a well-established record of supporting asylum-seekers in Glasgow: contact@ashproject.org.uk