CAMPAIGNERS have vowed “not to take the pressure off” the government’s racist policies following news that deportation flights will not take place before the elections.
Speaking at a Stand Up To Racism (SUTR) fringe at the FBU conference in Blackpool, SUTR national officer Nahella Ashraf warned that with neither party having an answer to ease the cost-of-living crisis, “the only thing they’re going to fight on is how racist they can be.”
As shock raids continue to take place across the country, Ms Ashraf said: “The fear it has created in people who have just come here, having already gone through trauma, is horrific.”
She warned that politicians will seek to demonise such people over the next six weeks: “That has a direct impact on not just the refugees and migrants, but a direct impact on the kind of society we create.”
Ms Ashraf called delegates to join a SUTR rally on June 29 outside Colnbrook detention centre, saying: “They would want to distract us with the election.
“But we need to hold them to account when it comes to these policies.”
The group is also helping organise a mass vigil for Sheku Bayoh, who died in police custody in 2015.
Speaking at the fringe, the lawyer representing the case Aamer Anwar reflected on comparisons to George Floyd: “The only difference is that in America, five days of protests led to four officers facing trial.
“In Scotland, five years of trusting the justice system gave the family betrayal and lies.”
Kadi Johnson, Mr Bayoh’s sister, thanked the trade union movement for their support and asked delegates to join the vigil as the public inquiry into the case recommences in Edinburgh on June 6.
