November Meeting

The November meeting was good and attended by Peter Leslie and Jane. We discussed options for next year but with a very small quorum nothing major could really be committed to.  For the Spring of 2022 Jane is arranging for a Country Coordinator to speak to the Group on Mexico and Leslie is doing the same for Afghanistan. Exact dates to be decided and they will both be on Zoom.  Fundraising might involve a Quiz and/or cake stall next summer. 

December meeting is Monday 6th Dec 7.30pm. We'll be writing cards (bring your own please) to Individuals at risk and feel free to bring some Christmassy nibbles and drink.  Since Covid still lingers please come with warm clothes as we shall open windows for better ventilation. If there proves to be a only a small handful of us then we'll write our cards quickly and repair to the pub for a Christmas noggin.

On Monday 11 October Keith Scott, Sheila Coles, Leslie Tisdall, Jane van den Broeke, Lynda Shore and Marion Malcher met with our MP Jonathan Lord to discuss three bills currently before Parliament and how they will affect our Human Rights if passed unamended as part of an Amnesty led campaign. The Policing Bill will make demonstrations very difficult to hold and potentially criminalises the Traveller way of life, the Nationality and Borders Bill criminalises refugees who make their own way here and breaks our responsibilities under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention while the Judicial Review Bill makes it much more difficult to hold the government to account for its actions. The Government and Police already have great powers under current legislation and have not proved the need for more. We are grateful that Jonathan Lord listened carefully and we had a robust and considered exchange of views and look forward to further correspondence.