Throughout its years in government - from Tony Blair's famous "Education, education, education" speech to the more recent "Every Child Matters" programme - Labour has claimed to champion the needs of the younger generation. For the 2,000 children who are sent to UK immigration detention centres every year, however, these claims ring hollow.
These children are torn from their homes, their communities and their friends, locked up for an indeterminate length of time, and denied adequate education and health care. Their only crime is to have parents who have applied for asylum in the UK.
This week the New Statesman launches a major campaign, No Place for Children, which calls for an end to the practice of detaining children for immigration reasons. Together with our backers - the Children's Commissioner for England, the Children's Society, Bail for Immigration Detainees and Women for Refugee Women - we believe the current situation reflects shamefully on a government that prioritises appearing "tough on immigration" over the welfare of innocent young people.
In the coming weeks, the NS will run regular reports on this important issue, and encourage our readers to get involved in the campaign by signing a petition to be launched later in September. With your help, we hope to show the government that every child really does matter, including and especially the most vulnerable.
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