Influencing Decision-Makers To Improve the Lives of Refugees and People Seeking Asylum Katie McSherry & Andrea Vukovic

What is campaigning? You might call it influencing, voice, advocacy, raising awareness, fighting for rights, building a movement, or campaigning… But it’s all about achieving the change you want to see in the world! “An organized course of action to achieve a goal.” Oxford English Dictionary “A campaign is a planned set of activities that people carry out over a period of time in order to achieve something such as social or political change.” Collins Dictionary

Do you have experience of campaigning?

Types of campaign actions, tools and tactics Public meetings/ debates Petitions Letter writing Flash-mobs Responding to consultations Street stalls Demonstrations Street theatre Drawing Media Attention Marches Meeting Decision-Makers Doing research/ Publishing reports Peaceful protest such as sit-ins and sleep-outs

What are the Key Components of a Campaigns Strategy? AIM: What is the bigger picture change we’d like to see? What are the specific changes that will move us towards that change? POWER ANALYSIS: Who are the key players who can decide on the issue? Who are our supporters, blockers, and who is sitting on the fence? STRATEGIC APPROACH: What is the best approach to influence our targets? What do they need to hear and who do they need to hear it from? TACTICS: What opportunities are there for influence? What tactics and activities can help us achieve our aims? EVALUATION: How will we ensure ongoing monitoring of the campaign to decide what to keep, change or stop? How will we know if the change has happened?

Influencing decision makers…

Influencing Principles: Come Prepared & Be Clear on Your Ask Come prepared: Do some background research. What has this person been up to recently and what are their concerns? You will gain respect if you can demonstrate that you have done some homework & will feel more confident. Be clear on how they can help: Try writing out exactly what you want the decision-maker to do. Make sure it is within their gift to do this for you!

Influencing Principles: Be Helpful & Collaborative Help them help you: Offer what you can to make supporting your issue as easy as possible. Don’t assume knowledge: Introduce your issue in a clear and simple way – don’t launch into policy discussions. Don’t start a fight: Even if you don’t see eye to eye think about where there might be room to compromise.

Influencing Principles: the Power of Storytelling You are all witnesses to the challenges facing refugees, or to the dysfunctional asylum system in the UK. Your stories are testimonies. People may dismiss facts and statistics, but it’s harder to dismiss your lived experience. This is part of the process of establishing credibility with decision makers.

Influencing Principles: Everybody Wants to Be a Hero Pitch your issues as a ‘Crisi-tunity’: What’s the crisis or issue you need to resolve? Where is the influencing opportunity? Offer them the ‘hero’ opportunity: Can you offer your decision-maker the chance to save the day? Will this secure positive publicity and help them gain visibility?

Influencing Principles: Working with Others Work with others: Demonstrate there is a cross-section of the community who care about refugees. Reach them from all angles: Consider how else you can get the issue on their radar – local media, community events, etc.

Influencing Principles: Follow-Up & Next Steps Follow-up ASAP: Send through a summary of key points and next steps. Say Thank You: For the meeting and for any follow-up actions. Don’t Give Up: If you hear no – think about re-strategizing and employing other tactics.

Influencing decision makers: Who are decision makers?

What Are Key Asylum & Refugee Issues? Poor decision-making means that many reach the end of the process without their protection needs being recognised. With no permission to work and limited financial support, people cannot afford to meet their essential living needs. A single adult receives just £5.28 a day for all basic necessities. There’s limited access to education, training and ESOL. People seeking asylum experience many barriers to healthcare, including problems registering and fear of charging. Asylum accommodation is often poor quality, and people can be dispersed far away from support networks. People seeking asylum are routinely made destitute whilst stating their claim for a safe haven from persecution. Asylum seekers can be detained indefinitely and without charge.

Understanding the role of your MP The UK is currently divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, each of which is represented by one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons. An MP has to balance the demands of representing: the people of their constituency, supporting the goals of their political party, and working on issues that are important to them as an individual

What can your MP do for you? Sponsor or support amendments to a Bill Raise an issue with the Minister Lobby internally for changes to their own party’s policies or priorities Put down a Parliamentary Question Sponsor or sign an Early Day Motion Take up an issue via Select Committees/ All Party Parliamentary Groups Table a Private Members’ Bill Host a meeting in Parliament or elsewhere

Understanding the role of your Councillor Local government is the collective term for local councils. Local councils are made up of councillors (members) who are elected by the public, and paid council staff (officers) who deliver services. Councils provide a wide range of services, either directly through their staff or by commissioning (buying) services from outside organisations. City Councils are responsible for: education; transport; planning; fire and public safety; social care; public health; libraries; waste management; trading standards. Councillors represent the residents of their Ward. Each Councillor is also a member of a Party (e.g. the Labour Group). Councillors hold regular surgeries (drop-ins) where they listen to the problems of local residents. They vote in Council meetings, and scrutinise the spending of local budgets. Executive members of the council are responsible for a particular department (e.g. Children’s Services).

Questions…

Role-Play Katie meets her MP, Andrea, about granting permission to work for people seeking asylum. What did she do well? What could she have done better? What should she do next?

Group work: Influencing Decision-Makers Scenarios Scenario 1: You’re meeting your MP to discuss the right to work for people seeking asylum and asking them to vote in favour of an amendment to the upcoming Immigration Bill that would grant this. Scenario 2: You’re meeting your local councillor to discuss the issue of room-sharing between unrelated adults in asylum accommodation in your area, and urging them to pass a motion against room-sharing. Scenario 3: You’re meeting your MP to discuss the difficulties of subsisting on low levels of asylum support and to ask they take part in an upcoming debate in Parliament about asylum support levels, to talk about their constituents’ experiences and push for an increase.

Stay in touch with Asylum Matters! Andrea Vukovic: Project Director andrea@asylummatters.org 078 3597 8659 Katie McSherry: North East Campaigns Project Manager katie@asylummatters.org 07468 452584 Emma Birks: West Midlands Campaigns Project Manager emma@asylummatters.org 07557983227 Lorna Gledhill: Yorkshire & Humber Campaigns Project Manager lorna@asylummatters.org 07557 982 498 Estelle Worthington: North West Campaigns Project Manager estelle@asylummatters.org 07557 983 264 Joseph Allen, 07469 192405 joseph@asylummatters.org, Wales Campaigns Project Manager