Brent and Harrow
5 May 2016 Vote for
Sadiq Khan Mayor of London
Navin Shah GLA Brent & Harrow
Labour Party Londonwide

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You are welcome here

This week the London Assembly praised the Mayor for his “immediate and unequivocal condemnation” of President Trump’s travel ban. The ban, which restricts travel to the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries, was described as “cruel and discriminatory”

The controversial ban applies to seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. President Trump’s Executive Order, which has been temporarily halted subject to further legal proceedings, stops any individual who was born in – and is travelling from - one of these countries from entering the United States.

I welcome the Mayor of London’s “immediate and unequivocal condemnation” of the travel ban. It called on Mayor Khan to make representations to the UK Government to ensure that any future trade agreement with the US will be a fair deal for London and the UK. It was passed by a vote of 13 to 1, with the Conservative Assembly Members abstaining.

It is vital that we, in the most diverse city in the world, make it absolutely clear that we condemn the recent travel restrictions implemented by Donald Trump. I am proud to have voted for this motion.


The travel ban is cruel and discriminatory. It panders to people's fear and prejudice, and can make people born in those countries feel targeted and discriminated against. I want to send a clear message to those living in Brent and Harrow who were born in one of the so-called ‘banned’ countries: you are welcome here.

The Government's response to it has been feeble, perhaps for fear of offending Donald Trump. We need them to unequivocally condemn the travel ban, and take real action to ensure our capital is not going to be adversely affected.

 

ENDS

Notes

  • The full text of the motion from Fiona Twycross AM is as follows:

    “This Assembly welcomes the Mayor’s immediate and unequivocal condemnation of the US President’s decision to ban travel to the US for people of several, predominantly Muslim, nationalities.  We welcome the Mayor’s comments that any travel ban based on nationality or religion, including bans on Israeli citizens, “is shameful and cruel”. London should always be a city that espouses the global values of tolerance, diversity and freedom. London is one of the most diverse cities in the world and many of its residents could be affected by the restrictions – be it for personal reasons, or business.

    This Assembly fears that that this decision establishes the direction of travel for Donald Trump’s presidency and we are concerned about future agreements between the US and UK and their impact on London; not only in regard to travel, but future trade agreements as well.

    We therefore call on the Mayor to make representations to the UK Government to ensure that any future trade agreement with the US will be a fair deal for London and the UK. This includes a careful examination of the potential impact of the deal to vital services, such as the NHS, and assurances that standards for imported goods and services will be maintained, not reduced to meet levels used in the US. The Government should not let the urgent need to establish new trade deals weaken its hand in these negotiations.”

  • All Labour AMs present voted for the motion, as did the two Green AMs and the Liberal Democrat AM. The one UKIP AM present voted against, and all Conservative AMs present abstained;

  • The figures are taken from the 2011 census and the specific figures for banned countries in [BOROUGH] are as follows: Iraq [XXX], Iran [XXX], Libya [XXX], Somalia [XXX], Sudan [XXX], Syria [XXX], and Yemen [XXX];

  • The US Government has confirmed that any individual who holds a British passport can still travel to America from one of the banned countries as long as they use their British passport;

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9th February 2017