Keir Starmer’s most generous union backer has joined faith leaders in a stark warning to Yvette Cooper, cautioning that new rules refusing citizenship to refugees who arrive in small boats will “breed division and distrust” and could fuel attacks on migrant hotels.
Christina McAnea, the general secretary of Unison, is among 148 signatories of a letter addressing these concerns. Alongside her, nine Church of England bishops, including Rose Hudson-Wilkin—the bishop of Dover and the C of E’s first black female bishop—and eight lord bishops from Southwark, Manchester, Gloucester, Leicester, and others, have united to challenge the home secretary’s plan. They argue that barring naturalization for anyone who has made a dangerous journey will label tens of thousands of people “second-class citizens” and risk inciting further social strife, according to the Guardian.
The letter, shared with the Guardian, warns that the policy could encourage “a toxic politics” that is “manipulated by the far right to bring hate and disorder to our streets.” This new guidance, introduced last Monday, directs Home Office staff assessing naturalization applications to normally refuse those applicants who “made a dangerous journey.” The updated policy effectively bars thousands of refugees from applying for British citizenship if they arrive by small boats or by hiding in vehicles.
The signatories implore Cooper to “urgently reconsider the decision to effectively ban tens of thousands of refugees from ever becoming British citizens.” The letter continues, “It was only last August that violent mobs sought to burn refugees alive in a hotel. Those communities are still healing from that violence and part of the response to the violence should be on creating integrated communities.
“Labelling refugees, who through no fault of their own have had to put their lives at risk on flimsy vessels, or have had to hide in the backs of lorries to reach safety on our shores, as a type of second-class individual will simply breed division and distrust. It risks playing into a toxic politics that pits ‘us vs them’ and is then manipulated by the far right to bring hate and disorder to our streets.”
McAnea, whose Unison was Labour’s most generous corporate donor during the 2024 general election—handing over £1.49m—has traditionally been seen as close to Starmer. Her support now underscores a growing unease within Labour over the government’s hardline “hostile environment” stance on asylum, which appears aimed at countering poll surges by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The letter is further backed by key figures including the heads of the Refugee Council, Islamic Relief UK, and the Chartered Institute of Housing, as well as faith leaders from the Conference of Liberal Rabbis and Cantors, and leaders within the Methodist and Baptist communities. A Home Office spokesperson stated, “There are longstanding rules that can prevent those arriving illegally from gaining citizenship. The government is strengthening these measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused.”
