Nadia Whittome MP Profile picture
Dec 2, 2021 9 tweets 2 min read Read on X
The Nationality and Borders Bill is back in Parliament next week.

It's the biggest threat to refugee rights we’ve seen in decades and breaches our obligations under international law.

Here’s what you need to know 👇🏽 1/9
The Bill was recently updated so that the government can strip someone of British citizenship without notice.

This law will of course be used against people of colour, no matter if they were born in this country. 2/9
The Bill criminalises people coming here without permission.

But it doesn't create safe and legal routes to asylum.

Therefore people can’t travel legally and are forced to do so illegally. 3/9
If you travelled via another country (bear in mind we’re an island!), the government will refuse your asylum claim and try to get another country to process it.

The global asylum system would crumble if every country refused to play its part “bc another country is closer”. 4/9
Even if you are eventually granted refugee status, you:

▪️only get temporary leave to remain
▪️have no right to family reunion
▪️have no recourse to public funds (so risk destitution)
▪️face the constant threat of expulsion. 5/9
The government says it wants to prevent people trafficking, but this Bill pushes people into the hands of traffickers by closing other routes.

It also allows people who help asylum seekers arrive in the UK without any gain for themselves to be prosecuted. 6/9
So those who save people's lives could be criminalised.

Meanwhile Border Force officials whose actions could result in deaths at sea will be given immunity from prosecution. 7/9
This thread could go on and on.

The Bill is full of terrifying changes that will make the lives of refugees even harder.

It is completely inhumane. 8/9
So what can we do?

There aren’t enough opposition MPs to defeat this in a vote, but public pressure could force the government to U-turn.

That pressure has to be ramped up urgently. Write to your MP, organise demonstrations, voice your opposition.

Time is running out. 9/9

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More from @NadiaWhittomeMP

Sep 26, 2025
Why mandatory digital ID cards - a policy no one voted for - are an attack on civil liberties, won’t tackle irregular employment and will only play into Reform’s hands: 👇🏽
1. Many people are rightly concerned about the risks of mandatory digital ID in relation to privacy, data security and government overreach. By implementing such measures, we risk creating a pathway for these powers to be abused.
2. Digital IDs won’t “stop the boats”, only safe routes will. Workers in the UK already need a national insurance number to work, and black market employers won’t suddenly start asking people for digital ID.
Read 9 tweets
Jul 2, 2025
What happened yesterday with the disability benefit cuts in the Universal Credit and PIP Bill was hard to follow.

Here's a thread of where we're at now and what comes next 🧵 1/7
Thanks to months of protesting by disabled people, the government offered concessions, including:

1. Cuts to PIP to be removed from the Bill entirely
2. "Co-production" of the PIP review w/ disabled people
3. Existing Universal Credit claimants' incomes will be protected 2/7
Last night’s second reading vote was on the unamended Bill (i.e. without the above concessions), but the government has promised to make these amendments at committee stage next week. 3/7
Read 7 tweets
Jun 30, 2025
It's now less than 24 hours until MPs are expected to vote on disability benefit cuts.

We still have very little information and what we do know is concerning.

A thread on some of the things we do and don't know, and why MPs cannot take this leap into the dark 🧵1/12
For new PIP claimants, they will need to score 4 or above in a Daily Living Activity category. Needing help to cut food, wash below the waist or dress yourself scores below a 4. These people could be denied PIP. 2/12
The government points to the PIP review which could change the activities that are assessed and the amount they score.

It claims this will be co-produced with disabled people, but disabled people say this would not be meaningful when the plan is to make £3 billion in cuts. 3/12
Read 12 tweets
Apr 10, 2024
As the Cass review is published, my thoughts are with the trans community.

Young trans people already face huge barriers to healthcare, including years-long waiting lists.

Their health and wellbeing should not be a front in a toxic culture war.
While some recommendations may positively impact the care young trans people receive, I know that others will cause significant concern.

I'm also aware of concerns raised about aspects of the review's methodology and therefore the basis upon which recommendations have been made.
In the coming days, I'll be speaking to experts, relevant organisations, and trans people themselves to better understand the report and its implications.

Its findings must not be spun by those ideologically opposed to trans healthcare.
Read 5 tweets
Feb 29, 2024
Today is the last day of LGBTQ+ History Month 2024.

Recent years have been difficult for our community. That’s why I wanted to post a short thread to remind us of some of our movement’s past victories in the UK.

Like we won then, we can win again.
From the Middle Ages up until the 1960s, all sex between men was a crime. From 1958, the Homosexual Law Reform Society campaigned for decriminalisation.

The 1967 Sexual Offences Act legalised homosexual acts between men over 21, taking place in private. Image
However, the age of consent for queer men still remained higher than for straight couples (16). This perpetuated the harmful (and still prevalent) idea of LGBTQ+ people as predators.

After a long campaign, it was first lowered to 18 and then finally equalised in 2001.
Image
Image
Read 10 tweets
Sep 7, 2022
Liz Truss’ new cabinet is filled with out-of-touch ultra-Thatcherites who have opposed women’s and LGBTQ rights, dismissed the climate emergency and insulted working class people.

Here’s a thread of some of the leading stars and their greatest hits 🧵👇🏽
Deputy PM & Health Secretary Therese Coffey:

- Hostile to abortion, voted against extending access to at-home abortion pills
- Voted against same sex marriage & against extending it to Northern Ireland
- Wrongly claimed UC claimants could make up £20 cut by working two hours
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng:

- Co-authored Britannia Unchained which called UK workers "among the worst idlers in the world"
- Toured around Saudi Arabia as Business Secretary, paid for by Saudi oil giant Aramco
- Defended then-Tory MP Owen Paterson after his sleaze scandal
Read 10 tweets

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