MIGRATION, IMMIGRATION, ASYLUM, REFUGEES

Local, National, Regional, International information and concerns raised

WHO DOES THE LOCAL COUNCIL REPRESENT? The local people that elected them, and pay them via taxes, or the government?

Regardless of whether the outcome is 'For' or 'Against' this motion the correct procedure must be undertaken and resident's views taken into consideration. If it has not been undertaken correctly and within the NOLAN Principles, then the motion should be retaken at a later Weston Town Council meeting, as requested by 11 councillors and members of the public. If it was the correct outcome then nothing will be lost by retaking the vote with a more informed decision making process. 

The whole process was poorly undertaken increasing potential racial tensions. There seem to hasve been little to no consideration of any potential resident concerns - from the way the motion was tabled, how NSC and Town Councillor partner speakers addressed the public (in person and on social media), police attendance and the general assumption that there were only two groups of people attending the meeting ('For' and 'Against'). It appears that there was no room for those who were undecided and went with an open mind. 

THE AGENDA

• Why was this motion put forward under Standing Order 11 and not a regular agenda item? What was the rush? Why couldn't this motion be deferred? Standing Order 11: MOTIONS AT A MEETING THAT DO NOT REQUIRE WRITTEN NOTICE  (PDF)
  • Did the councillors have enough information and time to consult with residents before this motion was put forward? Was the expected process followed?
  • Did residents have enough informaiton to contact their ward councillor before the vote so that councillors could properly represent them?
• Why was there no public information in the associated Report Pack?
  • Cllr Mike Bell facebook statement "It is NOT TRUE that this was done in secret. All Weston Town Council meetings are in public, all agendas, papers and minutes are published. Nobody “uncovered” anything – it is all in the public domain already" So where were the public papers on this motion? (PDF/IMAGE 26MAR25)
  • Continued on facebook, Cllr Bell stated, "I cannot speak for other councillors, but I did not think this was a big deal at all. The motion doesn't really change anything of substance and has no actual effects, and certainly not in the ways people feared. But we can all learn from the experience." Underestimating public feeling on this issue and not respecting resident's and councillors request for a delay for this non-urgent motion. As far as known the motion was not time bound nor of a health and safety risk if the process is to take 3 years to complete.
  • The proposer of this motion Cllr Reynolds stated that she was involved in the Bristol City of Sanctuary so should have known how contentious this would become considering the social media lead up to the meeting
• What does 'Weston Town Council supports City of Sanctuary UK' mean? Does it mean 'support in principle' and/or with resources/finance?
• What does "This council is committed to support the initiative to make Weston-super-Mare a recognised Council of Sanctuary" mean? What are the implications - social, resource, finance, staff?
• Did councillors receive any supporting documentation on this motion and when?
• Did councillors receive documentation on an Award Scheme, if so
  • why is this is not mentioned in the motion, and why has this document still not been made public?
• Why were there no costs with this motion (a possible 3 year project)
  • any Award would need various actions requiring staff and/or additional funding - including £250 mentioned at some point?

WESTON TOWN COUNCILLORS

• Approx half of WSM Town Councillors are also North Somerset District Councillors and some Executive Members, including the Leader and Deputy Leader of NSC, and the town mayor.
• What was the percentage vote between NSC and WSM Town Council only councillors?
• How did the political voting go?
• How did the ward voting go?

PRIOR TO THE MEETING

The major public concern seems to be the speed and volume of the proposed and unknown national situaton regarding migration and effects on the local seaside communities and rural villages/parishes, indigenous culture, housing, social services, infrastructure, etc.

Various heated debates on social media, claims of racism towards the 'Against' supporters, an inflammatory, perceived racist petition from the 'For' supporters e..g Race Equality North Somerset Call to Action Petition (26MAR25) 

• RENS, "... Sadly, attacks on Asylum Seekers are part of a wider narrative that targets all migrants. This is impacting everyone who is not white. When people are targeted and attacked on the streets, no-one stops to first ask if they are an Asylum Seeker..."
• Not the sort of statments expected to be seen by the Operations Manager of Race Equality North Somerset, a partner of WSM-Town Council and NSC!
• What about white European and other white migrants/refugees, e.g. Ukrainians? No-one should be 'targeted or attacked' on the streets.
• What about indigenous population - e.g. it has been stated that, "Weston-Super-Mare is the most dangerous major town in Somerset, and is among the top 20 most dangerous overall out of Somerset's 414 towns, villages, and cities.” (26MAR25)

ATTENDING THE MEETING

This was a frustrated, segregated but peaceful meeting. The only banners in attendance were from the 'For' supporters. Hundreds of concerned residents tried to attend the meeting but only 60 peoplee were allowed in. Just before the start of the meeting at 7pm the WSM Town Mayor, Cllr Crockford-Hawley addressed the crowd stating only 30 people for the motion and 30 against the motion were permitted to attend the meeting (Weston Mercury stated due to fire regulation reasons).

• Why was it that all residents were presumed to have pre-determined views? What if you just wanted to attend with an open mind? 
• Does the main NSC Town Hall council chamber, and all public meetings held in it, now only hold 60 members of the public due to fire safety regulations?

The 30 'For' attendees were first led into the building by a side entrance and positioned nearest to the councillors debating the issue. Police were stationed in the foyer. Then the 'Against' attendees were led to the back of the extended room. No people were allowed in the upstairs gallery. Many people were left outside with no access to the debate.

Three people were allowed to address council:

• Two people 'For' the motion
• One asking to delay the vote until enough public information and associated costs were available, asking what was the rush?

During the recess Cllr Clayton spoke with concerned residents.

THE VOTE

Cllr Bute proposed a motion to delay the vote until a subsequent meeting, seconded by Cllr Clayton. Strongly conteested by Cllr Bell. The amended vote was lost 14:11.

The vote to pass the original motion as written on Agenda item 13, was passed 14 For: 11 Against 2: Abstentions

FOLLOWING THE MEETING

• Cllr Clayton took the time to speak with concerned residents that were isolated outside and explain what happened in the meeting
• Comments on Cllr Mike Bell facebook statement  (PDF/Image 26MAR25)

MEDIA REPORTS

Where is the unbiased reports from both sides of the discussions? Is this a BBC LDR issue? it seems that the lack of openness and transparency for this motion led to a community divide, one based on community concerns the other based on pro-immigration/asylum.

• Mercury - Weston councillors vote on Council of Sanctuary motion (24MAR25)
  • "Councillors are debating and voting at a full council meeting as two groups, one supporting the motion, and one opposing it, gathered outside the town hall building from around 6pm Due to fire regulations, only 60 people were allowed in – 30 from the group against the motion, and 30 from the group in favour"
  • What about residents who had not made up their mind and wanted to listen to the debate?
• Mercury - Warning of ‘fake news’ as Weston Town Council debates Sanctuary motion (25MAR25)
  • "A LEADING councillor said “there has been a lot of fake news, outright lies and misinformation” about Weston-super-Mare Town Council’s discussion of a Council of Sanctuary motion."
  • What specific lies and fake news?
• Somerset Live - 'Misinformation' row as Weston becomes ‘council of sanctuary’ A top councillor said there had been 'misinformation' after the vote was met with a protest (26MAR25) ByJohn Wimperis Local Democracy Reporter (LDR)
  • "Motions are statements brought by council members and voted on by the full council to express support for schemes or to commit to initiatives or pledges. Council meetings and the papers going before them are open to the public"- Where were the supporting papers?

• Comments on Cllr Mike Bell facebook statement  (PDF/Image 26MAR25)

VARIOUS CONCERNS QUESTIONS

The major public concern seems to be the speed and volume of the proposed and unknown national situaton regarding migration and effects on the local seaside communities and rural villages/parishes, indigenous culture, housing, social services, infrastructure, etc.

• City of Sanctuary key principles of LEARN, EMBED, SHARE - 
  • "Any organisation, business or institution is welcome to apply for a Sanctuary Award which recognises a commitment to OUR VALUES AND VISION and helps to demonstrate the culture of welcome that is growing across the UK" --- Britain is already known for its welcoming and multicultural society - how do CoS values and vision differ? Why is this award needed? The award has already been stated to devalue and unappreciate the good work done to date over generations within the UK

  • "City of Sanctuary UK holds the vision that the UK WILL BE a welcoming place of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution. In order to realise this vision, City of Sanctuary UK supports a network of groups, which includes cities, towns, villages, boroughs and regions across the UK, and others engaged in Streams of Sanctuary, Sanctuary Awards and activities intended to welcome people seeking sanctuary. For more information see our Charter."

    WSM Town's Council's unilateral decision will affect ALL Town and Parish Council communities across the region - This was not explained prior to the vote on Monday

• How is migration coordinated (United Nations Replacement Migrattion Plan (2000) and government policy)?
  • Why are UK school children taught they are living in an overpopulated country/world - believeing that they should delay family life and pregnancy (increasing the risk of having unhealthy or no children) or deciding not to have children at all? Proper informed open debate is needed on this topic.
  • Other european countries are starting to encourage their indigenous population to have children e.g. Hungary 
    • "Family policy in Hungary refers to the government measures that have been passed to increase Hungary's birth rate and to stop the decline of the country's population" rather than to mass migrate other cultures, religions, laws, etc. (26MAR25)

• The white populations are a minority in the world. The UK is an island that gives a priority/protected status to a global majority.

  • "The global white population is a diverse group of individuals from many different countries, regions, and backgrounds. According to a 2018 report by the United Nations, there are an estimated 1.3 billion people of European descent living around the world. This makes up approximately 15% of the total global population... It is also important to note that while the white population is growing, the total population of the world is growing even faster, meaning that the percentage of the global population that is white is slowly decreasing" (PDF) Are our children, adults, policy and decison makers aware of this information?

  • "The information has been taken from our staff records. It is the demographic profile of our workforce, and a comparison, where possible to the wider demographics of the community of North Somerset"  - North Somerset Council Workforce Diversity Report 2022
• How many city or council of Sanctuary in the country? How many countries are part of this type of initiative? Where are they located?
• How does migration fit in with the additional 8,620 houses North Somerset Council have been forced to accommodate by the government, above and beyond the calculated North Somerset need, already set to irrevocably change our seaside town and rural communities?
• Where does migration fit with NSC's declared ambition to make WSM the second biggest settlement to Bristol? 
• How will this initiative distinguish between legal refugees/migrants and illegal migrants? Will they still assist them the same way?

DOCUMENTS AND LINKS