The Liberal Democrats declare in their election manifesto that Britain will take 50,000 more Syrian refugees from camps in the region and will re-open the scheme to resettle lone child refugees in Europe.
The party leader, Tim Farron, said that they should follow their pledge even though the resettling of 50,000 more migrants will cost about £4.3bn. According to Farron his party believed it was worth the investment.
“I don’t want us to be the kind of country who turns our back on those in desperate need, this is about Britain doing it’s fair share,” he said. “It’s not about taking all of the burden.”
“It’s also a challenge to the British people to make it clear to their government that this is the kind of Britain they want, a decent country, which doesn’t forget those in need, while the Conservative government choose a path that makes Britain meaner, narrower and less thoughtful about our neighbors.”
The Syrian vulnerable persons resettlement scheme was launched in the UK in 2014 in order to help Syrian refugees come to the UK with focus on helping the elderly, the disabled and victims of sexual violence and torture. The aim of the program was to accommodate 20,000 Syrian refugees over a period of five years and by the end of 2016 more than 5,400 migrants were resettled. People working on the campaign stated that more urgent measures are needed.
