Windrush Day Debate in Parliament

Jul 1, 2021 | Parliamentary Work

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In this week’s Windrush Day debate, I spoke about the need to celebrate the extraordinary contribution of the Windrush generation, take steps to tackle the ongoing racism and injustices they and their descendants face, and create a society that treats everyone fairly, no matter where they come from.

Echoing Arthur Torrington of the Windrush Foundation, I called on the Government to listen to the Windrush generation and give them the final say on where the Windrush Memorial is situated. I praised local schools and community organisations in Streatham and Lambeth for their own efforts to commemorate and celebrate the generation of people that came over to the UK to help rebuild after the Second World War.

Finally, I raised the ongoing injustice of the Windrush compensation scheme, which has become a scandal in itself, with the vast majority of the estimated 11,500 victims still not receiving a penny of justice and at least 21 dying before hearing back on their claim.

When the Windrush scandal broke, the Government issued a public apology. If they stand true to the apology that they made years ago, they must take stock of these criticisms, remove the Windrush compensation scheme from the Home Office so it can be managed properly, listen to the Windrush generation about where they would like to have their memorial, and take active steps to acknowledge institutional racism in the immigration system and across society.

Read more about what I got up to on Windrush Day