As the new US administration moves to enact a series of ever-more discriminatory policies, and as the material consequences of those policies begin to be felt around the world, those of us based in the UK face an additional blow as they watch their government throw its lot in with Trump’s.
In response to this blow, we, a group of UK-based legal academics and academic support staff, decided that one relatively straightforward action we might take, as the first step in a wider strategy of resistance, would be to draft an open letter of protest to the Prime Minister. This initiative was born at Kent Law School and has been supported by colleagues at universities across the country.
Here is the letter. If you would like to join us in signing it, please click on this link and add your name to the list of signatories. From now until 6.00pm on Sunday, 5 February, the letter will be open for any member of a UK university to sign. After that date, it will be sent with all signatures to the Prime Minister and to other media outlets.
Please share the link to the letter as widely as possible amongst your colleagues.
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Dear Prime Minister,
We would like to express our collective dismay at your decision to align the British Government with the administration of the new President of the United States, Donald Trump.
President Trump’s recent actions have serious domestic and global implications. Among the most alarming are his openly discriminatory decisions to block immigrants and visa holders from seven Muslim-majority states from entering the US and to suspend the US’s Syrian refugee admissions programme indefinitely; to insist on the construction of a wall along the US-Mexican border, threatening Mexican goods with a 20 per cent import duty (notwithstanding US commitments under NAFTA) if Mexico does not pay for it; to suspend federal funding to any US global health organisation willing to discuss issues surrounding abortion with its clients; to freeze federal support for the US Environmental Protection Agency, threaten a US exit from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and throw his weight behind the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipeline projects; to voice his support for outlawed torture techniques including waterboarding; and to threaten or dismiss (in the case of the acting Attorney-General, Sally Yates) any member of the US legal and judicial establishment who questions the legitimacy of his government’s measures.
While many of these actions were anticipated during his campaign, much more surprising is your decision as British Prime Minister to refrain from expressing clear opposition to the Trump government on behalf of the UK as a whole, even as Trump puts his promises into action, bringing tens of thousands out onto the streets in protest in the UK and across the world.
We would like to remind you that seeking to realign the UK with the US while breaking its ties with Europe will be a disaster not only for the British economy and the NHS, but also for:
- Britain’s already-tarnished reputation as an open, multicultural society capable of supporting vulnerable individuals and communities and acknowledging its imperial past;
- The safety of UK citizens, residents and civilians worldwide, now more vulnerable than ever to forms of extremism and nationalism, including white supremacism;
- The resilience of an international order founded, however imperfectly, on a commitment to the equality of individuals and states; and
- The possibilities available for thinking differently about the challenges of the twenty-first century and, in particular, about the extent to which those challenges are reproduced by the ‘solutions’ on offer in such a profoundly skewed international order.
The alacrity with which Trump has put in place, by Presidential decree, a swathe of openly racist, xenophobic, misogynistic and homophobic measures, together with the President’s total disregard for existing US commitments under international law, indicate that the British Government’s decision to renew its ‘special relationship’ with the United States at this time can only lead, in the short-term, to further suffering and discrimination. We can only hope that this self-serving programme will, in the long-term, set in motion a demand for real change that governments and communities across the world will be forced to answer.
With this in mind, we call on you not only to cancel Trump’s invitation to visit the UK but also, and more fundamentally, to withdraw the support of the British Government for the United States more generally until these indefensible policies have been reversed and disavowed. If you do not, we fear that the UK will find itself, like Trump, on the wrong side of history, with serious consequences for us all.
Yours sincerely,
Legal academics and professional staff across the UK
Signatories (as of 01/02/17)
- Aaron Wu, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Abenaa Owusu-Bempah, City, University of London
- Ahmed Raza Memon, Kent Law School
- Alessandro Pratesi, University of Chester
- Alexander Gilder, City, University of London
- Allison Wolfgarten, City, University of London
- Amanda Perry-Kessaris, Kent Law School
- Amandine Garde, University of Liverpool
- Amel Alghrani, University of Liverpool
- Ana Laura Cannilla, University of Reading
- Andrea Antonino Silipigni, Kent Law School
- Andreas Marcou, Queen Mary, University of London
- Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos, University of Westminster
- Andrew Choo, City, University of London
- Andrew Sanger, University of Cambridge
- Angeliki Papantoniou, Queen Mary, University London
- Ania Zbyszewska, University of Warwick
- Anna Grear, Cardiff University
- Anna Marie Brennan, University of Liverpool
- Anneli Albi, Kent Law School
- Annette Morris, Cardiff University
- Aoife Daly, University of Liverpool
- Ashleigh Keall, University College London, Law
- Basak Ertur, School of Law, Birkbeck
- Ben Hunter, University of Greenwich
- Bernadette Rainey, Cardiff School of Law and Politics
- Bill Bowring, School of Law, Birkbeck
- Bríd Ní Ghráinne, University of Sheffield
- Candice Mtwazi, Kent Law School
- Carl Stychin, City, University of London
- Catherine Hill, City, University of London
- Catherine O’Rourke, Ulster University
- Chris Lloyd, Oxford Brookes University
- Christine Schwöbel-Patel, University of Liverpool
- Claire Green, Queen Mary, University of London
- Colin R Moore, Kent Law School
- Connal Parsley, Kent Law School
- Craig Purshouse, University of Liverpool
- Daniela Nadj, Queen Mary, University of London
- Darren Dinsmore, Kent Law School
- David Herling, City, University of London
- David J Hayes, The University of Sheffield
- David Meyrick, Carers Hub Lambeth
- Davina Cooper, Kent Law School
- Diamond Ashiagbor, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
- Didi Herman, Kent Law School
- Donal Casey, Kent Law School
- Donatella Alessandrini, Kent Law School
- Eddie Bruce-Jones, Birkbeck College
- Edward Fairhead, Kent Law School
- Eleanor Drywood, School of Law and Social Justice
- Elena Loizidou, Birkbeck College
- Emilie Cloatre, Kent Law School
- Emily Allbon, City, University of London
- Emily Grabham, Kent Law School
- Emily Grabham, Kent Law School
- Emily Haslam, Kent Law School
- Emily Rose Hay, Queen Mary, University of London
- Emma McClean, University of Westminster
- Enkelejda Koka, Kent Law School
- Enrico Bonadio, City, University of London
- Eric Heinze, Queen Mary, University of London
- Eric Loefflad, Kent Law School
- Eva Nanopoulos, Queen Mary, University of London
- Eyal Benvenisti, University of Cambridge
- Frederick Cowell, Birkbeck College
- Gabriel Gari, Queen Mary University
- Grietje Baars, City, University of London
- Guido Westkamp, Queen Mary, University of London
- Hayley Gibson, Kent Law School
- Helen Stalford, University of Liverpool
- Helene Tyrrell, Newcastle Law School
- Henry Jones, Durham University
- Hyo Yoon Kang, Kent Law School
- Iain Frame, Kent Law School
- Illan rua Wall, University of Warwick
- Ioannis Kalpouzos, City, University of London
- Isobel Roele, Queen Mary, University of London
- Jack Clayton Thompson, University of Westminster
- Jasper van Dooren, Kent Law School
- Jastine Barrett, University of Kent
- Jeanette Nicholas, University of Westminster
- Jess Duggan-Larkin, University of Exeter
- Jessie Hohmann, Queen Mary, University of London
- Jo Bingham, City, University of London
- Jo Shuttleworth, University of Chester
- Joanne Pearman, Kent Law School
- John Strawson, University of East London
- Jonathan Austin-Jones, Kent Law School
- Jonathan Griffiths, Queen Mary, University of London
- Jose Miola, University of Leicester
- Josephine Uwineza, Kent Law School
- Judy Fudge, Kent Law School
- Julie Bacon, Queen Mary, University of London
- Julie McCandless, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Kate Malleson, Queen Mary, University of London
- Kathryn Allinson, Queen Mary, University of London
- Keith Simpson, City, University of London
- Kevin Warne, Queen Mary, University of London
- Kirsty Horsey, Kent Law School
- Ksenia Bakina, Queen Mary, University of London
- Kumari Lane, Queen Mary, University of London
- Laura Pritchard-Jones, Keele University
- Laura Wares, Kent Law School
- Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, University of Reading
- Lionel Bently, University of Cambridge
- LJB Hayes, Cardiff University
- Lucy Finchett-Maddock, University of Sussex
- Luis Eslava, Kent Law School
- Luke McDonagh, City, University of London
- Lynne Townley, City, University of London
- Mairead Enright, Birmingham Law School
- Marco Longobardo, Westminster University
- Maria Drakopoulou, Kent Law School
- Maria Federica Moscati, University of Sussex
- Maria Sheppard, Queen Mary, University of London
- Marie Aronsson-Storrier, School of Law, University of Reading
- Marie Fox, University of Liverpool
- Mark Van Hoecke, Queen Mary, University of London
- Markus Gehring, University of Cambridge
- Max Brookman-Byrne, University of Reading
- Mayur Suresh, School of Oriental and African Studies
- Mazen Masri, City, University of London
- Megan Donaldson, University of Cambridge
- Michalis Zivanaris, Kent Law School
- Mitchell Davies, Truman Bodden Law school
- Mohammad Shahabuddin, Birmingham Law School
- Monica Bonaccorso, Queen Mary, University of London
- Moriom Khan, Queen Mary, University of London
- Nadine El-Enany, Birkbeck College
- Nathan Moore, Birkbeck College School of Law
- Nicky Priaulx, Cardiff School of Law and Politics
- Nigel Duncan, City, University of London
- Nikki Godden-Rasul, Newcastle University
- Nora Honkala, City, University of London
- Paul Gragl, Queen Mary, University of London
- Penny Green, Queen Mary, University of London
- Per Laleng, Kent Law School
- Peter Fitzpatrick, Birkbeck Law School
- Prabha Kotiswaran, King’s College London
- Rae Bowdler, City, University London
- Rob Merkin, University of Exeter
- Robert Herian, The Open University
- Rosa Fernandez-Riveira, Queen Mary, University School of Law
- Ruth Fletcher, Queen Mary, University of London
- Ruth Neligan, BPP University Law School
- Sally Sheldon, Kent Law School
- Samantha Currie, University of Liverpool
- Sara Kendall, Kent Law School
- Sara Ramshaw, University of Exeter Law School
- Sarah Gale, City, University of London
- Sarah Heath, Queen Mary, University of London
- Sarah Keenan, Birkbeck Law School
- Sarah Lamble, School of Law, Birkbeck
- Serena Natile, Kent Law School
- Silvana Cristina Tapia, Kent Law School
- Simon Flacks, University of Westminster
- Simon Thorpe, University of Warwick
- Sinead Ring, Kent Law School
- Solange Mouthaan, University of Warwick
- Stephen Skinner, University of Exeter
- Stephen W Smith, School of Law and Politics, Cardiff University
- Surabhi Ranganathan, University of Cambridge
- Suzanne Francis, University of Chester
- Sydney Parfitt, Kent Law School
- Tanzil Chowdhury, University if Manchester
- Tara Mulqueen, University of Warwick
- Tarik Kochi, University of Sussex
- Toni Williams, Kent Law School
- Valerie Fogleman, Cardiff University School of Law and Politics
- Vanja Hamzić, SOAS, University of London
- Veronica Lachkovic, City, University of London
- William Wilson, Queen Mary, University of London
- Yutaka Arai, Kent Law School
- Yvette Russell, University of Bristol Law School
- Yvonne Galligan, Queen’s University Belfast
Here, here!
I agree wholeheartedly with the contents of this letter.
n/a
I am concerned about this government’s willingness to close the door on its European allies and realign itself with the damaging and destructive policies of the Trump administration in the US.
Old friends are hard to replace…..they may not always agree but when push comes to shove they are there. Trump is doing his best to ruin alliances in Europe ;between him and Putin, their egotistical policies may well start world war three. They must be stopped!