[Stronsaylimpet] Alistair Carmichael's "The week in Parliament"

[Limpet editor]

/Alistair Carmichael's "The week in Parliament":/

If there has been a theme to the events of Parliament in the last week 
it has been on immigration – and the Conservative Party’s ongoing 
disintegration. Between the government’s flailing attempts to rescue its 
“Rwanda” scheme – pouring yet more money into an immoral and unworkable 
plan – and its plans to cut regular migration with harsh and 
counterproductive new rules, Rishi Sunak’s goal appears to be cruelty at 
all costs, no matter the harm to our economy or health service.

Astonishingly, for many on the Tory right even this does not appear to 
be sufficient, with Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick quitting 
dramatically in protest at the Rwanda scheme – not because it was too 
ridiculous, but because it was not ridiculous enough.

*Human consequences of Tory prejudice on family visa restrictions*

Amongst the many other populist postures outlined in the government’s 
“plan” this week was a hike in the minimum income required for British 
citizens who want to bring a foreign family member or partner to live 
with them, from £18,600 to £38,700 a year. That is not just more than 
double the previous requirement – it is higher than the median salary 
for every part of the UK, bar London.

I cannot help but reflect on what this new threshold could mean for 
people in the isles. I have already heard of people being affected by 
the changes and I fear more will appear in the days to come. This is the 
human face of the consequences of Tory prejudice.

In the isles, we all know someone who is an immigrant to the UK, or who 
is married to one. They are valued members of our community, as much as 
anyone else. The government’s measures announced this week will not 
change that fact, but they risk discouraging future generations from 
joining our community. In the long term we will all be the poorer for that.

Over the years I have helped hundreds of constituents with immigration 
issues, helping people to bring their families back together or secure 
visas for their spouses. That is just a part of the job of a 
constituency MP but those successes, when they come, are some of the 
most rewarding.

I shall challenge the proposals in Parliament in any way possible and I 
would urge anyone affected to contact my office.

*Crippling visa restrictions on fishing workers*

There are of course more specific harms caused by the new rules, 
particularly for our fishing industries. Having hammered fishermen 
earlier in the year with their sudden imposition of new rules on visas 
for deckhand workers, this week the government doubled down.

A hike in the salary requirements to secure worker visas is bad enough, 
but it comes on top of inflexible rules which demand that these workers 
pass stringent English language tests, a point I highlighted in 
Parliament on Tuesday. 
<https://click.ngpvan.com/k/74885733/442939139/1748100591?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9MSUJVSy9MSUJVSy8xLzM4NTM1IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjVjZjZmYmI0LWNhOTYtZWUxMS04OTI1LTAwMjI0ODIyM2YzNiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAicmljYXJkaWFuQGNsYXJlbW9udHN0cm9uc2F5LmNvLnVrIg0KfQ%3D%3D&hmac=9aqan9xDgez9cHGH_9ysRM0eKtGLZQ7m4po6OcQBo4g=&emci=fc28f14d-ca96-ee11-8925-002248223f36&emdi=5cf6fbb4-ca96-ee11-8925-002248223f36&ceid=397233>

This is not about any inability to speak English. This is about barring 
people – whose valued skills have nothing to do with language – on the 
basis of their ability to talk about Shakespeare.

I have heard of one local skipper in the isles who tried the language 
test himself and failed – because of the speed of typing required. If a 
native English speaker cannot pass such a test it suggests that 
something is not quite right here.

The Home Secretary is completely clueless of the needs of island 
communities. For the sake of a newspaper front page today he risks 
crippling the fishing industry for years to come.

**

*New data on poverty shows two child limit must be scrapped*

The two-child limit – a rule brought in by the Conservatives which 
blocks additional child credits for children after the first two – has 
long been a sore point across the country. Analysis by End Child Poverty 
<https://click.ngpvan.com/k/74885734/442939140/-1746055891?nvep=ew0KICAiVGVuYW50VXJpIjogIm5ncHZhbjovL3Zhbi9MSUJVSy9MSUJVSy8xLzM4NTM1IiwNCiAgIkRpc3RyaWJ1dGlvblVuaXF1ZUlkIjogIjVjZjZmYmI0LWNhOTYtZWUxMS04OTI1LTAwMjI0ODIyM2YzNiIsDQogICJFbWFpbEFkZHJlc3MiOiAicmljYXJkaWFuQGNsYXJlbW9udHN0cm9uc2F5LmNvLnVrIg0KfQ%3D%3D&hmac=9aqan9xDgez9cHGH_9ysRM0eKtGLZQ7m4po6OcQBo4g=&emci=fc28f14d-ca96-ee11-8925-002248223f36&emdi=5cf6fbb4-ca96-ee11-8925-002248223f36&ceid=397233> 
this week has found that 250 children in Orkney and 260 in Shetland are 
affected by the two-child limit policy. The overall child poverty rate 
in Orkney is 20.1%, while in Shetland it is 15.4%.

These figures point once again to how absurd the two-child limit really 
is. If people need help they need help regardless of how many children 
they have. You cannot imagine a parent being turned away at a hospital 
if their third child was ill or denied access to a school.

This policy is a punishment on children through no fault of their own. 
It is past time the government saw sense and scrapped the limit outright.

*Challenging the indiscriminate loss of journalists in Gaza*

The Committee for the Protection of Journalists have found that 57 
Palestinian journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the 7th 
of October – the worst period for the killing of journalists since the 
start of records in 1992. I raised these figures in Parliament on 
Monday, to call upon foreign office ministers to challenge the Israeli 
government on this unacceptable situation.

The response was lacking, to say the least. If the government does not 
think that killing 57 journalists doing vital work in Gaza is 
“indiscriminate” then I dread to imagine what would qualify in their eyes.

Journalists in conflict zones cannot be considered legitimate targets. 
That so many have been killed in these attacks at best suggests a 
scattergun, haphazard approach by the Israeli military. If our 
government cannot stand up for restraint then we can only expect to see 
more of these losses.

*Scots Trad Music Awards recognised in Parliament*

And finally – on a happier note, I was glad lodge parliamentary motions 
this week recognising the winners of the Scots Trad Music Awards. It was 
an opportunity to single out the success of the Orkney Folk Festival as 
“Event of the Year” and Mhari McLeman, long-time volunteer at the 
Shetland Folk Festival as “Traditional Music Enabler of the Year”, as 
well as the success of Skipinnish song “The Clearances Again” – a piece 
which gained attention as a protest against the SNP-Green governments 
HPMA proposals. Twenty years on and the Scots Trad Music Awards go from 
strength to strength, as does the Scottish folk scene.

Folk music is part of the fabric and furniture of the isles – it is 
always worth recognising those who maintain and build those traditions. 
The award to “The Clearances Again” goes to show the power that music 
has to move and motivate people – long may that continue.

As ever, if there are any issues that you would like to raise with me, 
please do not hesitate to get in touch - and for specific casework 
matters you can contact me at alistair.carmichael.mp at parliament.uk.
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