Emiliano Mellino

Spain's migrants welcome amnesty: 'It will help us in every way' Madrid cites humanitarian and economic reasons to give undocumented workers legal status.

Grown-up immigration policy

My book on the history of British South Asian political activism is out this September!

Available to pre-order now from all good bookshops and online.

Westminster Meeting House raided by Metropolitan Police again. Statement: “For Quakers, faith and action are inseparable. Peaceful protest, prayer and nonviolent action are integral parts of many Quakers' religious life. Whilst we take the planning of criminal acts very seriously, we believe that this incident is a deliberate targeting of committed young people who want to make our country a more equitable place. This raid is part of a systematic stifling of dissent. That this is the second time in a year that the police have raided our meeting house dramatically illuminates the broader trend in the UK of cracking down on those who disagree with the government. The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy. It's a key part of how people make their voices heard between elections.” – Oliver Robertson, Head of Witness and Worship Quakers in Britain, 5 March 2026

Yesterday evening, for the second time in a year, the Met Police raided Westminster Quaker Meeting House and arrested a number of young nonviolent activists.

STATEMENT: www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...

Completely mad proposal from the Commons to hide the names of MPs staff who have parliamentary passes which could prove invaluable to vested interests looking to buy access to Westminster. Staff members taking hospitality + freebies would no longer be identified.

Aside from everything else, deeply confused policy from govt here. Is care work (a major driver of migration) low skilled?

Or is it, as another govt Department thinks, worthy of better pay and conditions through better collective bargaining (the Fair Pay Agreement policy)?

Yeah you know that body charged with enforcing and advising employers and workers the biggest overhaul in workers' rights in a generation from April?

I can reveal its precursor body is struggling to even cover its existing costs, so much so it had to cut spending last year.

Doesn't bode well!

Tom Belger column: ‘Why is Labour making migrant exploitation easier?’ - LabourList Anyone talking about immigration should admit and debate the trade-offs between prices and immigrant and other workers' rights.

"Britain already has fewer inspectors than most similar countries. Last year the current Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority was actually cutting spending,reducing legal, interpreter & other services to curb a budget deficit."

Great piece by @tombelger.bsky.social
labourlist.org/2026/03/why-...

And despite being told they’re anti semitic and homophobic they voted for a party led by a gay, Jewish man. This is significant.

Despite being continually accused of not integrating, Muslims have voted in numbers, and against a party with a Muslim Home Sec whose immigration policies and actions regarding Gaza they strongly opposed.Instead they found common value with a white British woman who spoke to them locally and beyond.

There’s a special kind of knot in your throat that comes with being a migrant in Britain today, the kind that always stays in the back of your mind. I’m forever indebted to the Greens for making it go away in a sigh of relief at least for one night. Onwards to the next! 💚

A reflection from the leader of a migration charity. We have been told over and over again by politicians - even from “partners” and “allies” that we will not win on our policies unless we concede. Throw some migrants under the bus - they’re too unfavourable. Public doesn’t agree with us.

Sky News hearing Labour canvassers found that doubling (and tripling) the route to settlement has caused significant concern with those directly affected (Commonwealth migrants who have arrived in last 3 years)

Sheer scale of changes not yet on the general media radar, though MPs hearing a lot

Israel responsible for two-thirds of record 129 press killings in 2025, says CPJ Committee to Protect Journalists report says Israel also to blame for 81% of ‘intentionally targeted’ journalist killings

Of the 129 journalists and media workers who were killed in 2025, two-thirds of them were killed by Israel.

Israel was also responsible for 81% of killings that the Committee to Protect Journalists classified as “intentionally targeted.”

The “independent” researcher paid by Juul YouTube video by The Examination

💸 Juul paid an “independent” nicotine researcher €7,000… and flew him business class to lobby Israeli health officials against a high-strength vape ban.

How independent are the scientists shaping global vaping laws? 👇
🎥 youtube.com/shorts/nf7zL...

#OtD 24 Feb 1915 Amelio Robles Avila, a trans officer in Emiliano Zapata's Mexican revolutionary army, intervened in close combat in Salto de Valadez and Mazatlan, Guerrero. His unit battled a government column from noon and defeated them by evening www.tiktok.com/@workingclas...

Reform’s local councils are bringing climate denial into the… Top polling party’s moves to ‘undeclare’ the climate emergency and scrap net zero targets could be a sign of things to come

I keep hearing that the rise of the populist right is one of the biggest threats to the climate. Watching Trump’s second term it’s hard to disagree

So @tbij.bsky.social looked at what councils controlled by Reform UK are doing on climate

What we found was pretty shocking

Billionaire halts mass eviction after London Centric investigation Exclusive: Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital hoped to replace hundreds of tenants with more lucrative temporary accommodation. That plan has been shelved – for now.

Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital halts mass eviction after London Centric uncovered what was going on. Hundreds of Londoners now receiving bizarre door-to-door visits blaming misinformation and being asked to record videos saying they don't want to be evicted. www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-...

Reform mayor courted US oil and gas executive about fracking in UK Exclusive: Documents show Andrea Jenkyns asked how she could help firm after major gas find in Lincolnshire

I spent several months trying to get access to FOI documents of Mayor Andrea Jenkyns' correspondence with fracking companies in Lincolnshire.

Read about what I found in my latest piece for The Guardian!

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A fascinating piece and a good reminder that "migrant" or "ethnic minority" communities are not a monolith, but contain multitudes.

Labour can no longer rely on the ‘ethnic minority vote’ Foreign policy, home country politics and differing economic instincts fracture voter priorities

Fab Inside Politics by @georginaq.bsky.social today:

Home Office to begin removing post-Brexit residence rights from EU citizens whom it believes haven't actually been living in the UK, from March 2026 committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence...

The image shows a Rivet Joint plane, with a green radar in the background.The text reads: “Gig workers in Africa have been helping the US military – but they had no idea”

NEW INVESTIGATION: Low-paid gig workers in Africa have been helping the US military – but they had no idea

Story in partnership with @restofworld.org & @crikey.com.au

A part of Akinola Davies Jr's speech the BBC decided not to air

Last time a Reform politician said the minimum wage should be cut we looked into his businesses & found three of his former employees had won employment tribunal claims against him.

But despite what the tribunal ordered, he didn't pay a single judgment
www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

Last time a Reform politician said the minimum wage should be cut we looked into his businesses & found three of his former employees had won employment tribunal claims against him.

But despite what the tribunal ordered, he didn't pay a single judgment
www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

The image shows people working on a farm in the UK. The headline reads: "The UK government has been slammed for 'callous' inaction on farmworkers abuse"

NEW: For the last few years, calls to reform the seasonal worker visa have gone largely ignored

Now, the government has even rejected several recommendations from its own independent immigration advisers...

Story link in the replies ⬇️ @mellino.bsky.social

While Labour continues to target vulnerable migrants for detention and deportation, undermines modern slavery protections and actively tries to end some human rights for migrants, they also refuse to take the most basic steps to reform the seasonal workers visa to help reduce risks of exploitation.

NEW from @tbij.bsky.social:
The government has rejected calls by its OWN independent Migration Advisory Committee for visa reforms to protect migrant farm workers from exploitation

Labour seems wedded to a model of immigration based on creating a subclass of exploited worker.
It's sick.

Government criticised for inaction on farmworkers abuse Criticism comes after the rejection of various ideas, put forward by its own advisers, on how to protect migrant workers from exploitation

Thank you, as always @mellino.bsky.social, for excellent reporting on the ongoing scandal of conidtions for the workers who put food on our tables 🙏

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

Thanks for sharing! This is a scandal that is being too easily ignored.