Public opinion on refugees has changed – the government needs to catch up

Editorial: For all the ‘grand statements’ from ministers, they appear to be stuck in the mindset they had at the time of the 2016 EU referendum

14 March 2022 (Brian Adcock)

The UK government has been slow off the mark in responding to the desperate plight of refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Although 3,000 of the 22,000 applications for visas have now been approved, Ireland, a much smaller country, has already allowed in 5,500 Ukrainians. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, was right to criticise Boris Johnson’s government for failing to live up to its “grand statements” about Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

It is true that the UK has been generous in providing humanitarian relief to countries neighbouring Ukraine, such as Poland – which, thanks to the remarkable generosity of people willing to take Ukrainians into their homes, has accepted 1.5 million without setting up refugee camps. Thankfully, the UK is now following suit and urging the public to hand over any spare rooms to refugees. We applaud a move that is in line with our Refugees Welcome campaign.