Hi John,

Yesterday, the first asylum seekers arrived at the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset. The plan has gone ahead despite the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) condemning the boat as a “potential deathtrap”. 

Across the country, tensions are rising as the Government continues to place asylum seekers in hotels, barges and barracks, and the far right try to use it to their advantage. In Dorset, employees on board received a threatening letter from anonymous activists saying “collaborators” would be followed back to their homes and that they’d face repercussions.

We’ve been working alongside communities facing the far-right threat. But we need you to help us go further. Can you chip in so we can expand our work in communities?

The far right have travelled to Dorset to try to inflame tensions around asylum seeker accommodation. But John we have a plan to stop them.

 Here's what we've done so far:

• Developed free resources for community groups to mobilise against the far right
• Supported groups on the ground to respond when the likes of Patriotic Alternative, Voice of Wales Katie Hopkins and UKIP have shown up in their communities
• Invested in the best digital tools to support our research team to monitor and tackle the far right 

But as the situation in Portland has shown, we desperately need to do more to stop the far-right threat from evolving. If we can’t reach our target amount then we will have to downgrade our plans. So far, 395 people have supported this campaign - will you join them?

The Bibby Stockholm barge is another example of this Government’s cruel and unworkable policies on migration. Originally built to house 220 people, the Government has now said it wants to pack over 500 on board. 

Crowding hundreds of asylum seekers into rooms no bigger than a car parking space, jammed onto a floating vessel that the FBU called a “potential deathtrap”, is both inhumane and symbolic of this Government’s hostile policies. Lee Anderson MP has demonstrated this himself, saying that asylum seekers should “f*** off back to France”.

As the Conservatives drift further to the right, the far right is becoming increasingly volatile.

And we won’t stop raising the alarm about both.

Thanks for everything you do.

Georgie

Campaigns and Communications Director, HOPE not hate