Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Ok this is actually a funny joke - A Blairite, a Brownite and a Corbynite walk into bar. The barman asks: “What are you having, Mr Burnham?” But also a surprisingly positive take so I will also have some hope, for now. 010
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 30/09/2026MPs still have the chance to stop dangerous earned settlement plans before they happen. We've joined amazing partners in highlighting the very real harm these proposals could do - download the briefing here: asylummatters.org/2026/09/30/n...asylummatters.orgNew briefing: MPs urged to act on 'Earned Settlement' - Asylum MattersMP briefing on earned settlement from asylum charities highlights impact on child poverty, family security, equalities & social cohesion 031
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Refugee Action @refugeeaction.bsky.social · 28/09/2026More deaths at our border. Totally preventable. We are devastated. This is what happens when there is no way for people to safely reach the UK in order to claim asylum. Their only option is to risk their life in a boat. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...theguardian.comThree people dead, including a child, in attempt to cross Channel to UKOfficial says deaths – and dozens of injuries – were probably caused by crushing on boat carrying 105 people 1207
Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 25/09/2026The Home Office even announced that these kinds of items couldn't be purchased on the pre-paid card for people seeking asylum. It's so on the nose it's almost too obvious to say 'first they came for...' 001
Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 25/09/2026It's great the Prime Minister wants to end rough sleeping. But to do this, he has to take ending refugee homelessness seriously Take 2 mins to email your MP action.youngroots.org.uk/whd2026/action.youngroots.org.ukEmail your MP this World Homeless DayTake action for young refugees facing homelessness 000
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Declassified UK @declassifieduk.org · 09/09/2026The MoD recently gave a £10 million contract to an Israeli-owned arms firm which operates under the authority of minister Bezalel Smotrich -- who is subject to UK sanctions. Is Andy Burnham going to do anything about that? www.declassifieduk.org/uk-awarded-c...declassifieduk.orgUK awarded contract to firm overseen by sanctioned IsraeliExclusive: £10 million deal signed with company linked to Bezalel Smotrich who is sanctioned by Britain 313498
Reposted by Lisa Matthews elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 08/09/2026They were able to do fascism tourism in Belfast, terrorise brown people, and then came back to England feeling energised to do more. All of this is in the open. The police knows about them too because everyone who spends more than 20 minutes looking into them can easily find out their info 111665
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 08/09/2026I think the worst part of Labour's response to the fascist mobilisation is Andy Burnham's absence. He's the most popular politician in the country, with social media reach and actual powers of persuasion, and he's saying nothing in public. He can actually be of use here but he's choosing not to 451458420
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Jon Featonby @jonfeatonby.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Sarah Jones, the Home Office Minister who made the statement on the Dover and Portsmouth far right activity, claimed that the drop is asylum grant rates is a “marker of progress”. So fewer people being recognised as refugees is a good thing, no matter whether those decisions are correct? 094
Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 07/09/2026This is where 'legitimate concerns' gets you - the far-right will never vote for you, it enables anti-migrant laws and policies to flourish, no-one is better off and it becomes very very hard to see the way back from here. 194
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 07/09/2026The AfD and Reform immigration policies are almost identical. There is no plausible reason for considering one far right and the other not. 642896902
Reposted by Lisa Matthews George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 04/09/2026The government must know full well that many people have neither the space nor the money to store extra food in their homes. It is individuating responsibility for a collective problem. As usual, it is the poorest and most excluded who will suffer from it. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/environment/...theguardian.comMinister tells Brits to stock up on days of supplies after ‘supersize’ El Niño warningExclusive: Angela Eagle urges UK citizens to be ‘a bit more resilient’ as they plan for national emergencies 1032071793
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Declassified UK @declassifieduk.org · 01/09/2026🚨BREAKING -- Keir Starmer announces his resignation as an MP to focus on "international affairs". The blood of Gaza will never wash from Keir Starmer’s hands. He should be tried in the Hague for his role in the genocide👇 www.declassifieduk.org/the-blood-wi... 411659
Reposted by Lisa Matthews M a r c u s 🏳️🌈🇧🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · 01/09/2026Section 28 is back then. 17684298
Reposted by Lisa Matthews elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 01/09/2026In the US it's far right Republicans going after trans rights. In the UK, it's the Labour party. 35025
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 14/08/2026The solutions to the housing crisis are clear: and they're the same for everyone. We've joined 50 refugee orgs in telling Andy Burnham it's time to do what's needed to get everyone housed safely - including people seeking sanctuary. Read about what he could do here:👇 inews.co.uk/news/council... 0134
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 14/08/2026This entire article could be replaced with a 🤷 since the Guardian seems to have no clue why its latest favourite politician has no interest in the greatest crisis facing humanitytheguardian.comHot topic: why is Burnham so reluctant to talk about the climate crisis?Extreme heat is harming wellbeing of ordinary people the PM champions, yet little has been said on the topic 2193
Reposted by Lisa Matthews elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 07/08/2026What it will achieve though is making the UK itself a shittier place to live for everyone 3345
Reposted by Lisa Matthews New Economics Foundation @neweconomics.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Reminder: - Migrants didn’t sell off our country’s social housing stock, successive governments did. - Everyone deserves a secure, affordable place to live. - Evicting our friends and neighbours is cruel, divisive and would do absolutely nothing to solve the housing crisis 🧵 36431
Reposted by Lisa Matthews James Butler @piercepenniless.bsky.social · 07/08/2026This is an attempted lynching, which will be treated with much less seriousness then pensioners holding up Palestine Action placards. 9624264
Reposted by Lisa Matthews rainbowmigration.bsky.social @rainbowmigration.bsky.social · 03/08/2026At Rainbow Migration we are very concerned about this change. It comes on top of already very poor-quality asylum decision-making by the Home Office, which is putting LGBTQI+ lives at risk. 0119
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Asylum Matters @asylummatters.bsky.social · 27/07/2026Hostility isn't working - and everyone can see it. Government after Government has tried making the asylum system crueller, and left it more broken than ever. But there's a better way. With 200+ refugee orgs, we've sent Andy Burnham a blueprint for a system based in both evidence and welcome. 13826
Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 27/07/2026I recently spoke to @matthewremski.bsky.social on the Antifascist Dad podcast about what our lives have been like since my stepson was arrested as part of the Filton25 - and the dangerous precedent that the Filton4 terror ruling set antifascist-dad-podcast.castos.com/episodes/pro...antifascist-dad-podcast.castos.com39: Supporting the Filton 25 w/ Lisa MatthewsIn August 2024, six Palestine Action activists breached Elbit Systems UK's newly built facility in Filton, Bristol, and used sledgehammers to sabotage drones, computers, and manufacturing equipment. E... 183
Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 27/07/2026“It’s a few broken windows and red paint that they’re now saying is terrorism. It shows you the lengths the state is willing to go to in order to protect the Israeli weapons trade." 023
Reposted by Lisa Matthews caatuk.bsky.social @caatuk.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Today is the “family entertainment” day of horrific arms fair and airshow Farnborough International. Activists are handing out leaflets to expose the truth about this marketplace of death. 153
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Crowsa Luxemburg @quendergeer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026well i can't think of anything that will quash the idea that elbit systems gets special treatment from the judiciary more effectively than prosecuting anyone who says so 08525
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Sonia L @sonial77.bsky.social · 29/06/2026I can't emphasise enough how bad this proposal is. Last week alone there were two reports out which highlight what a bad idea it is. First was the ICIBI report on asylum casework which noted a drop in quality of decisions when recruitment standards were lowered: open.substack.com/pub/thoughts... 21516
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Jon Featonby @jonfeatonby.bsky.social · 29/06/2026It almost goes without saying that a government that is serious about improving integration outcomes is not a government that puts refugees into 1000s of pounds of debt, gives them shorter periods of leave that has to be renewed and makes them wait 2 decades before they can settle. 19535
Reposted by Lisa Matthews James Ball @jamesrball.com · 29/06/2026You will never be able to be cruel enough to refugees to satisfy Reform voters. You will never benefit from raising the profile of the issue. Your best hope is to address the problems, reduce the backlog, and make the problem move down in salience. Whatever Mahmood is doing is the opposite of that. 415630
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Jon Featonby @jonfeatonby.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Looking at the most recent stats, there were over 18k people in all Home Office accommodation from either Afghanistan or Iran. Large numbers of people are not being returned to either country anytime soon. Granting leave to that group would cover around 90% of the hotel population. 46237
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 26/06/2026Impossible to argue with Sonia‘s conclusion here that the reason the Home Office wants to abolish independent immigration judges is that they keep on finding its decisions to be wrong, and rather than improve the decisions, the Home Office has decided to silence the judges 04727
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Sonia L @sonial77.bsky.social · 26/06/2026I wonder whether the Home Office will bother publishing a response to the independent appeals body consultation, before publishing a draft bill to introduce it on Tueaday www.gov.uk/government/c...gov.ukAsylum: new Independent Appeals BodyThe Home Office is calling for evidence on the creation of a new Independent Appeals Body as part of reform of the asylum system. 0138
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Chai Patel @chaipatel.net · 24/06/2026This is a far right argument which blames racial hatred on immigrants instead of racists. 715945
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Asylum Aid @asylumaid.org.uk · 23/06/2026We are facing the greatest challenge to refugee protection in decades. Their rights in the UK are being steadily eroded, with the government reducing the length of refugee leave from five years to just two & a half years. 🚨 We are challenging this in court. 🧵 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...independent.co.ukShabana Mahmood’s cuts to refugee protection to face legal challengeExclusive: Refugee status in the UK is now temporary with the right to asylum under review every 30 months 11110
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Netpol @netpol.org · 23/06/2026Judge Johnson has decided that Filton Four barrister Rajiv Menon KC has a case to answer for alleged contempt of court and has referred it to a senior judge to find a High Court judge to preside. Rajiv faces a criminal trial for telling a jury about a plaque outside the Old Bailey. 77446
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives @darrencullen.bsky.social · 25/05/2026Now for a look at tomorrow's newspapers... Prints / postcards: www.spellingmistakescostlives.com/product-page... 210949
Reposted by Lisa Matthews David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 22/06/2026For those of us who see Palestinians as human beings, this was Starmer's defining moment. It is not sustainable to behave in this way while leading the nominally progressive party in a two party system. Starmer's unpopularity is not one of life's great mysteries. www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8_s...youtube.comKeir Starmer denies saying Israel 'has the right' to withhold water and power from citizens in GazaYouTube video by LBC 7600215
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Ben Phillips @benphillips76.bsky.social · 19/06/2026These declarations are made out in the open, now with automatic translation. Western politicians and commentators who pretend not to notice these grotesque declarations by *the national security minister of a state which their countries arm and fund* are complicit in them. 2381582707
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 18/06/2026The EWCA's Ammori decision marks a dismal low in the courts' scrutiny of national security issues. In a new post on @verfassungsblog.de, @alangreene.bsky.social, @daniellalock.bsky.social and I examine the depressing tricks by which rights protections disappear: verfassungsblog.de/palestine-ac... 11613
Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 11/06/2026If you read one thing about the Filton case, read this (I mean, also please read the things I've written ☺️ ) - it's really the best explanation of this shocking show trial of anti-genocide activists, in which I'm personally involved, that I've read jonathancook.substack.com/p/legal-prof...jonathancook.substack.comLegal profession revolt against the UK judge whose job is to protect Israel's genocideJudge Johnson so rigged the trial of anti-genocide activists that 1000s of legal professionals have urged him to step down from the sentencing hearing. But Johnson's dirty work is not yet complete 000
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Migrants Organise @migrantsorganise.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Last night our friends in Belfast showed up for their community, taking action in solidarity to get targeted families out of danger from racist attacks. They are now raising funds to support those who have been impacted—please donate and share. chuffed.org/project/1854...chuffed.orgSupport people and groups impacted by racist attacksWe are raising funds to support people who have been attacked, displaced and traumatised in racist attacks in Belfast. 098
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Sonia L @sonial77.bsky.social · 10/06/2026The Home Office has published the evaluation of the pilot extending the move on period to 56 days www.gov.uk/government/p...gov.ukEvaluation of the initiatives to enhance the move on processAn independent evaluation of several initiatives introduced to improve the move on process, focusing on implementation, early impacts, and value for money. 101
Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 09/06/2026The P Word is a beautiful story brilliantly acted - the play draws you in then pulls the rug from under you, quite rightly. I've never cried so much in the theatre, having sent 90 mins also laughing and beaming. On till 27 June at the Bush Theatre in London - get a ticket if you can. 000
Reposted by Lisa Matthews May Bulman @maybulman.bsky.social · 29/05/2026The Home Office has today announced it will use AI to ‘clamp down on fake age claims at the border and increase removals’ In the same breath it admits this AI tool has an error margin of at least 2.5 years for teenagers, and higher rates of error for females + some ethnicities What could go wrong? 196
Lisa Matthews @lisaleziza.bsky.social · 28/05/2026Amin said the return of the internet was a reminder of all that had been lost: “What truly came back online is our misery, not freedom.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...theguardian.com‘This isn’t freedom’: anger, anxiety and tears as Iran’s internet flickers backAfter 88 days of near-total blackout, first reactions to the return of partial connectivity were not celebratory 000
Reposted by Lisa Matthews British Association of Social Workers @basw-uk.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Thank you @weareyoungroots.bsky.social for joining us in calling this out. 🙏 042
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Hugo Gordon @hugogordon.bsky.social · 26/05/2026I've been involved in plenty of government/regulator consultations where it's pretty clear they've already decided to do what they're consulting on, but usually they at least pretend otherwise. 093
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Wolfram Lacher @wlacher.bsky.social · 26/05/2026New @hrw.org report exhaustively details how an Emirati private security company with close ties to the highest levels of the UAE government recruited Colombian mercenaries, trained them at a UAE military base, and deployed them for the siege and capture of El Fasher, Sudan.hrw.orgFrom Bogotá to El FasherThe 83-page report, “From Bogotá to El Fasher: UAE’s Role in the Deployment of Colombian Fighters and Other Backing to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan,” presents evidence showing that, since 2024, t... 13641
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 20/05/2026“Why aren’t the Greens helping to shuffle this guy into power?” 513735
Reposted by Lisa Matthews Le Monde in English @english.lemonde.fr · 08/05/2026France passes law on the restitution of cultural artifacts looted during colonial rulelemonde.frFrance passes law on the restitution of cultural artifacts looted during colonial ruleThe law, which fulfills a promise Emmanuel Macron made to a crowd of young African people in 2017, allows the government to approve the restitution of looted artifacts by decree, rather than requiring a specific law for each case. 20836262
