Dear supporters,
 
I want to tell you that remembering that over 100,000 of you exist, kept both Hannah and I afloat during the post General Election wake-up call.
 
As much as I want to avoid division by taking a political stance, I have to be clear here that being political is not an opt-in or out game when you are vulnerable or marginalised. The children suffering at Europe’s borders are there because of politics. They remain far from safe, warm homes, and the people they love, because of politics. They may be kept from those homes forever because of politics.
 
Brexit is more likely than ever now that we have a Conservative majority – a Brexit that is based on an aggressive stance of ‘taking back control’ of borders and immigration. Many people are already feeling the effects of this new system, with thousands of EU citizens being denied the right to the status they need, to stay in the place they call home. 
 
And children who currently live in chaotic and dangerous camps, in tents in the woods, or with only a blanket on the streets – will only be punished even further in the coming months. While the Home Office states that applications for family reunification, made before any withdrawal date, will continue afterwards to be resolved, it remains clear that no new applications will be accepted after Brexit. Meaning that on the date we leave the EU, we abandon unaccompanied child refugees forever.
 
However. This is not a call for losing hope. This is a call for us to galvanise and gather ourselves, because this fight does not end with an election. Each signature on this petition reminds us that love, hope and solidarity is out there, and that change is possible.
 
We can all do small things to make a difference: donate or volunteer at your local foodbank; support charities working with asylum-seekers or those who are homeless; speak to your new MPs about issues you care about. And please, please share with your friends, families, colleagues, and with political friends and foes alike – this is a time for us to remember again, as the wise and wonderful Jo Cox told us, “we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us”.
 

Thank you all – love and solidarity xx