A councillor has been left gutted after her motion to appoint a Windrush lead in Manchester City Council failed.
Coun Ekua Bayunu attempted to withdraw her motion after Labour’s council leader Bev Craig said it was the ‘responsibility of all councillors’ rather than just one individual to deal with these concerns. But because her opposition's amendment had been passed, she could not withdraw it.
“I cannot support something that disrespects this community,” Coun Bayunu said after Coun Craig’s amendment was carried. “I do not feel I can put my name to this motion now.”
This was a motion she fought passionately for in the chamber, but ended up being opposed to it by the end of the debate.
Coun Bayunu wanted to campaign for a Windrush Act which would put a duty on public bodies to reduce race disparities and establish a commonwealth community cohesion fund for the development of projects in the UK and the Commonwealth. This would tackle disparities and rebuild social and economic ties of communities damaged by the Windrush scandal.
“Many of the current problems have their roots in the racist 1971 Immigration Act which ended the right of people from the British Commonwealth to obtain UK citizenship unless they had a parent or grandparent with UK citizenship,” her motion stated.
“This ensured that many white people in the Commonwealth could come to the UK but denied the same rights to most black people from the same countries. The right of abode should be restored to the Windrush Generation who lived in the UK and their descendants.
“The use of the UK Borders Act 2007 to automatically deport people who have been sentenced to twelve months or more is racist, as it disproportionately impacts black immigrants. It has led to people being deported to countries they left as children and where they have no connections, often leaving behind their families.”
All this campaigning was not something the Labour majority believed required an individual lead for. Coun Rahman (deputy leader) said this was something that they are already leading on.
Coun Bell chipped in talking about the work she has done on Windrush as a champion for the cause in an official government capacity. Coun Bell was highlighted as 'an ideal candidate' for Windrush lead due to her vast experience on the subject by the Green Party and Lib Dems.
Coun Bev Craig ‘took the teeth out of the motion’ by taking focus away from the new Nationalities and Borders Bill and the impact it would have on communities across Manchester, according to Coun Bayunu. She wanted members to ‘vote with their conscience’ on this issue, but the whip was not removed by the council leader.
Members of the community were urged to approach their local councillor with issues in relation to this as Coun Craig suggests, with this being ‘every councillor’s responsibility’ to deal with, not just one.
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