our latest campaign: CITIZENSHIP FOR LIFE
Clause 9 of the Borders and Nationality Bill, which would give the Home Secretary powers in exceptional circumstances to revoke the citizenship of millions of British people born both overseas and in the UK without informing them, has provoked deep concern. Yet the power to revoke British citizenship has existed for over a century and has been strengthened by both Labour and Conservative governments.
This power, which can only be applied to citizens with overseas heritage, is the foundation for a two-tier society in the UK. If we are to build a society where all citizens, regardless of their heritage, are equal, then we need a new Citizenship for Life Act which make citizenship a lifelong right for all of us. This legislation would repeal the provisions of the 1981 British Nationality Act which allows the government to strip of their citizenship naturalised British citizens or those born in the UK but eligible for citizenship elsewhere. Doing so would guarantee that citizenship is not a privilege which can be withdrawn from people who have heritage outside the UK.
Our draft Citizenship for Life Bill is below and we encourage anyone who wants to support the campaign to get in touch.
Previous campaigns
We worked with the Freedom Charity and other campaigners to achieve a series of major policy commitments from government in 2021. This included a commitment from the government to ban the abusive practices of child marriage, virginity testing and so-called 'hymen repair'. These abusive practices are completely incompatible with British values and human rights, and we were delighted to support campaigners such as Freedom Charity founder Aneeta Prem (pictured) as she sought Parliamentary support to outlaw them. We continue to support Freedom Charity as their focus moves from legislation to eradication of these practices.
