Julie Mather

John Amaechi, "When you listen to this conversation, it's like the policy was make for the apocryphal kind of grotesque stereotype of what an immigrant is" "Not for real actual people" "Yes there are fraudsters in this world. Guess what, they're not just black and brown people coming to this country" "I worked in the NHS for 10 years where migrants doing the jobs that many of us would find the most desirable did it with passion - we stood by as they protected our loved ones in their most vulnerable moment" "And I'm not saying that that is the picture of all migrants too" "But surely a more charitable picture than the fraudsters and the connivers, the criminals, somehow - as if we do not have them here in aplenty" "Any time you look at a policy that starts to tell people coming here that they're only valuable if they make more than this amount of money, then all of us here should look out" My view: During the pandemic, we called them essential workers. We applauded them for caring for our parents, cleaning hospital wards and keeping the country going. Now their wages are being used to question whether they contribute enough to deserve a future here. Their contribution hasn’t diminished. Politicians have simply found it convenient to stop recognising it. If someone earns too little while doing work our society depends on, perhaps the problem is how little we pay them. What a cruel response to underpaid care workers: we need you to look after our families, but your wages make you unworthy of settling alongside them. John Amaechi’s warning should trouble everyone. Once a government starts measuring people’s worth by their salary, millions of us should wonder where that leaves us. What price do you put on someone holding your mother’s hand through the night? And why would their payslip tell you whether they deserve to stay?

Abdul El-Sayed, "Donald. I know you struggle with my name. So after JD swears me in in January, you can just go on and call me senator" My view: Now THAT is how you put Donald Trump in his place. With a smile, a little swagger, impeccable timing and a devastating punchline. Absolutely magnificent. 🔥👏 For a man who has repeatedly used Abdul El-Sayed's name, Muslim identity and heritage as political weapons, Trump might be discovering that the very people he tries to intimidate are becoming some of his most formidable opponents. There is something wonderfully poetic about answering prejudice not with fear, but with confidence, humour and an unapologetic sense of belonging. And imagine the delicious irony of JD Vance, Trump's own Vice President, having to administer the oath of office to a man whose political rise represents a rejection of so much of what Trump stands for. That moment would be bigger than a political victory. It would be a celebration of an America where your name, your faith and your background are no barriers to public service. The votes are still being counted, but the confidence? Absolutely senatorial. 🇺🇸💙