ES Views: Treat May’s message to our EU citizens with caution

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13 December 2017
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The Prime Minister tells us in an open letter to the Standard that the anxiety and uncertainty faced by EU nationals living in the UK is now at an end [December 11]. With respect, that is not for her — or us — to judge.

We hear every day from EU nationals dealing with the uncertainty of Brexit and it is abundantly clear that nobody can truly understand their anxiety unless they have personally experienced it.

It is actions, not aspirations, by which the Government’s record will be judged. Unfortunately, Theresa May created the hostile immigration policy at the Home Office which has been inflicted on lawful residents in the UK. This explains why many EU citizens are not reassured by arrangements that entrust their future rights to UK governments and courts.

The Joint Report does provide some relief in that the cut-off date for gaining rights to stay will be the date of Brexit and not retrospective. But there remain glaring gaps regarding future mobility.

If the Government is serious about delivering its industrial strategy, we need a system that actively welcomes international talent and ensures that the skilled and talented workers we need can stay in the UK.
Sue Ferns, senior deputy general secretary, Prospect union

It was a coup for the Evening Standard to attract a letter from the Prime Minister but her warm words belie the harsh reality for three million EU citizens living in the UK.

Theresa May could have made a generous offer to invite them to stay in the UK from the outset. Instead, she used them as bargaining chips. The Government itself says nothing is agreed until it is agreed; the future for EU nationals living in our country is still far from secure.

The result? London hospitals will be lacking nurses and building sites will be short of construction workers. The Government has sought the most extreme form of Brexit, which has led to huge numbers of skilled workers returning to the continent. London is now starting to feel the economic effects, while the personal effects of families being broken up cannot be measured.

Mrs May and her Brexit supporters should be ashamed.
Tom Brake MP, Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesperson


I note that the Prime Minister’s letter to EU citizens is not dated. Is it not about 18 months overdue? Is there really anything in this letter that could not have been offered at the start of this process?

After the misguided attempt to hold their fate hostage to our own bungled negotiating strategy, will Theresa May really be surprised if they respond with “bah humbug” to her belated attempt at reassurance?
Dr Roger Litten


Children too suffer domestic abuse

Tomorrow the House of Lords will debate the latest report from the Children’s Commissioner, which will estimate the number of vulnerable children in the UK. About 30,000 children are homeless because of domestic abuse and this year 300 children will spend Christmas in one of Hestia’s London refuges. Yet the Children’s Commissioner does not focus on this group.

We receive almost no local or national government funding and are only able to provide specialist support because of the generosity of members of the public. We urgently need more to be done to make sure children get the support they need.
Patrick Ryan, CEO, Hestia


Anyone can be a genuine Londoner

Sadiq Khan’s response to a journalist last week encapsulated perfectly what so many Londoners feel. To suggest that the Mayor’s home is anywhere but London is reminiscent of the tiresome “go back to where you came from” soundbite that has sadly become all too familiar.

Just like Sadiq, my heritage may be mixed and our stories different but our home will always be London. British and Muslim identities are not mutually exclusive. The Mayor showed us that we can embrace and celebrate who we are, and it is this blend of diversity that makes London such a great place to call home.
Asha Hussein


Resignation points to a desperate NHS

Lord Kerslake, who has resigned as chair of King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, is not accustomed to acting on sudden ill-considered whims [December 11]. So when he joined NHS chief executive Simon Stevens in pointing out that our NHS is seriously underfunded, even Jeremy Hunt and the Government must recognise that something is amiss.

It is surely time for other trusts to follow his lead and speak out in defence of the services and people for whom they are responsible.
Francis Prideaux


Regenerate housing rather than building

There is nothing wrong with building on suitably sized gardens [December 5] and we should give Sadiq Khan’s proposals the thumbs- up. However, it won’t, by itself, do much to solve the housing crisis.

Our priorities should be first to regenerate unused or dilapidated housing stock and redevelop brownfield sites. The green belt is precious and, once built on, is gone for generations to come. This option should only be a last resort.
John Laird


Barry Molloy’s criticism of the promotion of new homes in the redevelopment at Elephant and Castle and the former Heygate Estate is correct to a point [Letters, December 11]. However, most properties there are still unsold or sold but empty.

Flats are being bought as investments and do not produce any kind of “community”. These and the many other empty properties recently built should be requisitioned by the Mayor to ease the current housing crisis.
Christopher von Sluightman


Give kids enough time to learn music

Having taken recorder classes I sympathise with Timothy Ridout’s concerns regarding group music lessons [“Group lessons ‘put children off music’, December 8].

What is also problematic is the insistence of some state schools on having two or three children taught in 15 or 20-minute slots. I can just about teach two beginner flute pupils in 20 minutes but find it hard to teach even one singing pupil in that length of time.

With the voice there are more variables due to it being part of the body. For a start, not warming up properly can cause damage. Then, once you have warmed up, there is often hardly any time left to work on a song other than sing it through.

It seems that some schools are more interested in the quantity of children learning rather than the quality of the lessons. This is about ticking boxes and reaching Government targets as opposed to enabling children to acquire good habits for life and how to improve.
Deborah Fink

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