Reform councillor defends plan to axe City of Sanctuary status – amid concerns from opposition parties

A senior Reform councillor has defended a plan to withdraw Bradford from City of Sanctuary status - after opposition politicians accused the party of "spreading hate and division".

In 2021, the national charity City of Sanctuary granted Bradford Council Local Authority of Sanctuary status.

This is a symbolic accreditation awarded to local authorities which commit to creating safe, inclusive and welcoming environments for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

Now, Reform-led Bradford Council is proposing to ditch its Local Authority of Sanctuary status.

Councillor Ian Walker, the council’s portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and communities, will put forward a motion on the matter at a meeting later this month.

He said: “If the motion is passed, it’ll be implemented and we will withdraw from the City of Sanctuary.”

When pressed for more details, Coun Walker said if Local Authority of Sanctuary Status was scrapped, Bradford Council would continue to offer statutory services to people, including asylum seekers and refugees.

He insisted his motion was not about saving money – the status only costs £700 for three years, he said.

But with his motion, he said he wanted to create a debate.

“This motion is about how we control mass migration,” he said.

“It’s about giving the people of Bradford – through their elected members – a say in how their future looks. It’s about democracy.”

Opposition councillors have criticised Reform’s plan to withdraw Bradford from City of Sanctuary status.

Coun Matt Edwards, leader of the Green Party group on Bradford Council, said local Reform councillors were “trying to distract people” with this particular motion.

“It’s genuinely absurd that Reform thinks this is the biggest issue in Bradford right now,” he said.

“Bins aren’t being collected, we have potholes on our streets, we have fly-tipping that’s not being cleaned up for weeks on end.

“Those are the real issues Reform at City Hall should be focussing on.”

Imran Khan, leader of the Labour group on the council, accused Reform of “falling back on their usual toxic recipe of hate and division”.

He added that City of Sanctuary “supports refugees to integrate into British society which is something that is a proud, patriotic and long-standing tradition of this country and which benefits us all”.

Coun Walker was asked how he would respond to the concerns which have been raised.

He said: “My message to the other parties and possible residents who think this may create hate and division is I really don’t think it will.

“I don’t see why people would think like that.”

Bradford Council leader Coun Stephen Place added: “Our responsibility is to Bradford residents first, and that means prioritising public services for local people who live, work and raise their families here.

“It also means confronting serious issues which have been ignored for far too long, like encouragement of illegal immigration through generous taxpayer-funded provisions.”