‘Fewer people would be getting on small boats if there were safe routes into the UK’

The issue of migration, refugees and asylum-seekers is the rusty barbecue of British politics.

It’s dragged out every summer. Cautious people steer well clear. And then some knobhead douses it in petrol.

‘It says we don’t care’

This episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast came about after the sudden - overnight, on a Friday evening - scrapping of the Afghan resettlement scheme. That was followed just a few days later by the revelation of a colossal data breach in which the personal details of almost 19,000 people who had asked to come to Britain in order to flee the Taliban had been accidentally leaked by an official working at UK Special Forces headquarters. Can’t get the staff, eh?

‘I was angry and upset because that was the last refugee resettlement scheme in the whole of the UK’

Gaby Erica from Telford has worked to support refugees and asylum seekers, first in Shropshire and then across the West Midlands, for many years. She joined me to talk about these two developments, and about the issue of small boats crossing the English Channel. Of necessity, this also involves discussion of the ongoing housing crisis, rough sleeping, accommodating migrants in hotels - ‘You can’t have people living in hotels for the rest of their lives’ - and more.

You probably know someone who feels strongly about this issue, one way or the other. You might know someone who’s caught up in it all. Why not share this episode of Hello You the Shropshire podcast with them and others too?

‘There are so many vulnerable groups in the UK that need appropriate housing, but there’s a shortage’

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Coming soon on Hello You the Shropshire podcast

* The difference that music and inspirational musicians can make …

* See Shrewsbury’s historic buildings through expert eyes with a new app that makes your phone into your town guide …

* Are people in Shropshire with mental health needs really getting the support required? Or are they being handed on to local groups who are already overstretched?

* What lengths does a master photographer go to, to capture the beauty of Shropshire?

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Thank you for being there

Take care of yourself. Don’t walk the dog in this heat!

Take care of the people around you. And I hope that they are taking good care of you, too.

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