Green Party Conference supports Gary Lineker on his 'entirely valid' point about Tories' cruel approach to asylum policy

 The Green Party has just passed this resolution at its Conference. Unanimous in the conference room and just one against online.

Green Party conference expresses solidarity with Gary Lineker and instructs the External Communicator to call on the BBC to reverse the decision to remove him from Match of the Day. The party believes in the principle of BBC impartiality and is clear the organisation is making a mockery of its own policy in this instance. Instead, they are bowing to party political pressure and undermining free speech in the process.

We believe that the point Gary Lineker was making around the deliberately cruel approach to Conservative asylum policy was entirely valid. The Conservatives’ deliberate stoking of this issue as part of their incessant culture war also serves as a distraction from the urgent humanitarian crisis on our doorstep. The issue of desperate refugees should not be used as a political football.

Paul Lorber: Why I stand with Gary Lineker. Words and Actions Do Matter

 Guest post by Paul Lorber

In the 1930s under Adolf Hitler Nazi Germany introduced oppressive policies against their Jewish Nationals. Jews could not own businesses, work for public bodies, could not go to restaurants, theatres and parks, their children could not attend public schools or universities, their property was stolen. Normal life was impossible.

Many countries around Germany, including Slovakia introduced similar policies. 

In the meantime countries around the world started closing their borders as politicians claimed that their countries were being swamped by aliens with foreign culture and should not allow any more to enter. 

In 1938 my aunt who was Slovak and her husband who was German managed to escape to Argentina. When my parents tried to get permission to leave for Argentina that country also closed its border to escaping Jews.

The ‘words and actions’ of the pre 2nd World War years had a devastating impact as millions of innocent people ended up in Nazi concentration camps.

Both my parents suffered this fate - they were lucky to survive.

The world has not learned from our recent history of the 1930s and the war that followed. There are still oppressive regimes and people are still trying to escape devastating wars where the aggressor targets civilians.

“Words and Actions do matter”. The language (and actions) of politicians need to be challenged and this is why I Stand with Gary Lineker.

I would not want the horrors experienced by my parents to have to be experienced by others. You can read my mother’s story HERE.