As we watch the conflict in Ukraine unfold, many people are struggling with a sense of their own powerlessness. They have a fierce urge to do something to help. Recent polling shows that the public believes the UK government should be doing more to welcome Ukrainian refugees. It’s clear our country has been moved and wants to help those whose lives have been turned upside down by the conflict.
The government is now attempting to harness this wave of compassion and sympathy with its “homes for Ukraine” scheme. On the face of it, the plan is bold and ambitious. Any person who wants to take a Ukrainian refugee into their home will be able to do so as long as they can name them and they have a visa. The echoes of David Cameron’s “big society” are impossible to miss.
