There was a heated debate this week when councillors considered the contents of a petition objecting to north and West Cumbria being considered as an area of sanctuary.
Members of Cumberland Council met at the Civic Centre in Carlisle on Tuesday to consider the petition, which said the citizens of Carlisle and Cumberland objected to city and council of sanctuary status.
The petition was submitted via the www.change.org website and, at the date it was submitted to the council, the petition contained 1,883 signatures, of which 1,112 were from council area. This meant it exceeded the threshold to be debated by the council.
Organiser Josh Kirkwood told members that areas such as Weston-Super-Mare had withdrawn from the sanctuary initiative due to the public backlash and said that councillors should serve the people not follow the party lines.
He added: “There are deep tensions in the Carlisle community.”
He claimed a resident was assaulted by someone presumed to be an asylum seeker and added: “Cumberland voters will hold you accountable at the next election.”
Mark Fryer, council leader, said the petition made no clear demands and the move to becoming a council of sanctuary had been unanimously passed by all the political groups.
He said that more residents supported the area being a place of sanctuary than opposed it and they should listen to all opinions and consider the evidence.
When there were outbursts from the packed public gallery, he added: “I won’t be shouted down by anybody.”
Councillor Gareth Ellis (Wetheral, Conservative) proposed an amendment to the recommendation that they note the contents of the petition.
His amendment recommended that the issue of illegal trading, illegal working and associated organised crime impacts on high streets in north and West Cumbria be referred to the council’s place overview and scrutiny committee.
He said that the council should note the Parliamentary concern that ‘illegal immigration, illegal working and illegal trading too often manifest in the proliferation of dodgy shops on our high street’.
Cllr Fryer said the work of scrutiny committees was prioritised by the chairman and vice chairman and his proposed amendment was nothing to do with the sanctuary initiative.
Councillor Helen Tucker (Cockermouth North, Green Party) said she noted the concerns of the members of the public and listened to their concerns but she could not accept the paragraph relating to illegal immigration, illegal working and illegal trading.
Councillor Joseph Ghayouba (Bransty, Labour) said it was wrong to link the three issues and added: “I think conflating those three things is the wrong way to go about it.”
When the proposal was put to a recorded vote it was overwhelmingly voted against and the amendment fell.
Councillor Lisa Hinton (Currock, Labour) said she felt the meaning of council of sanctuary had become lost, and there were a lot of assumptions made about it, but it would cost the taxpayers nothing.
She said that the council had no say over any decision to place asylum seekers in the area by the Home Office and added: “The city of sanctuary has been around for a long time.”
Members agreed to note the contents of the petition.
After the decision, Mr Kirkwood said: “I don’t think we were listened to in this meeting, the previous meeting and every safety concern has been dismissed.”
He added that there was no acknowledgement of anything he had said in the petition and he felt members had just tried to dismiss everything that I was trying to raise as racist.
A report to the council said the petition outlined a number of concerns relating to the changing demographics of Carlisle, specifically related to the presence of asylum seekers, or people who are presumed to be so.
“It particularly raises fears about safety, indicating that those signing it feel intimidated by the presence of people who are seeking asylum.
“As members will be aware, being a Council of Sanctuary will make no difference to the number of asylum seekers placed in Cumberland by the Home Office.
“The aim of being a Council of Sanctuary is to ensure that people arriving in Cumberland are supported adequately to be quickly and effectively integrated into local society.”
According to the report it was proposed that, on the basis that the council has now twice confirmed its support for becoming a Council of Sanctuary, most recently at its last meeting, it was proposed that council noted the contents of the petition.
It stated that alternative options considered include, through debate, council could reach any alternative resolution it sees fit and the report concludes that the report is intended to confirm what actions are being proposed.
