London community groups have joined forces outside the Home Office today (Friday 5 December 2025) to oppose the Home Secretary’s cruel asylum reform plans announced on 17 November
29 London community groups, including at least 3 in Islington, are joining 225 local groups from across the UK to sign an open letter today (5 December) to tell the Home Secretary that they reject her ‘ruthless new plans to erode refugee rights’, with some signatories attending an action outside the Home Office today.
The letter is part of a week of ‘Communities Together for Refugees’ action that kicks off around the country today, organised in collaboration with communities and Together With Refugees. The London groups who signed the letter include Haringey Migrant Support Centre, Minority Inclusion Front (MIF UK), Fences & Frontiers, forRefugees, Bicycle Links CIC, Caritas Archdiocese of Southwark, Katherine Low Settlement, Greenwich Cricket CIC, Waterloo Community Counselling, Active Horizons, LegalAliens Theatre, Amour Destiné, Care4Calais Heathrow, Just Shelter, Waltham Forest Migrant Action, Highbury Vale Blackstock Trust, Salusbury World, West London Welcome, GreenNet, The Margins Project, New Horizon Youth Centre, The Separated Child Foundation, Kehillah North London, Freedom from Torture North London Supporters Group, Islington Faiths Forum, Host Nation, Pan Intercultural Arts and Union Chapel in Islington.
Minda Burgos-Lukes, London Organiser at the Together With Refugees Community Organising Network, is coordinating today’s action at the Home Office as part of the week of action.
She said: “We are coming together from communities across the country to tell the Home Secretary that we reject her cruel plans. Through our work and personal experiences, we see every day the courage of people forced to flee their homes and the compassion they are met with in our communities.
“Most people respond with solidarity: they open their homes, offer support, and speak up because they know welcoming refugees is an act of community, love and care.
“The far-right marches and attempts to spread fear do not reflect what we witness on the ground. This weekend, we stand together with refugees to show what our communities are truly capable of – showing each other appreciation, respect, dignity, and hope.”
The letter, responding to the government’s plans ‘Restoring Order and Control’ announced on 17 November, states: “Every day we witness people stepping up – opening their homes, volunteering their time, speaking out for fairness and supporting one another. We know that your cruel new plans do not represent us, our communities or who we are as a country.”
It finishes: “We – communities across the UK – are standing together to reject your plans. Now is not the time to play into the hands of those seeking to build them-and-us division between local communities and refugees. Now is the time to focus on what unites us, find common ground and offer our humanity to those who have already suffered enough.”
With 80% of the British public wanting an approach to the asylum system that is well managed, fair and compassionate, the ‘Community Together For Refugees’ weekend of action is an opportunity for communities to celebrate their commitment to kindness, cohesion and safety.
With far-right rallies against refugees and overnight displays of flags, local people in communities across the UK are joining forces with others in their area to show solidarity and compassion for those who have been forced to flee their homes due to war and persecution.
More than 30 actions are planned in towns and villages across the UK, including Christmas markets, street stalls, craft sessions, musical performances and food festivities. 10,000 posters with the message ‘We Stand Together with Refugees’ will also be placed in windows across the country – from houses and community spaces to places of worship and businesses.
Anyone wanting to join the actions and show compassion for refugees this weekend can print out their own posters to display.
Find out more at togetherwithrefugees.org.uk and @RefugeeTogether on X and @RefugeesTogether on Instagram and BlueSky.
