Yesterday, staff at Praxis – a migrant rights charity where I am CEO – were doing what they do most mornings.
One colleague was on the phone helping a mum who survived trafficking to get a roof over her head. Another was advising a young disabled man on his latest visa fees. The office was buzzing with phones ringing and voices sharing all too familiar stories: “I don’t know where to turn... I’m sleeping rough... I’m skipping meals to feed my children.”
Our service users are those who are experiencing poverty, destitution and homelessness, locked out of the public safety net and reliant on organisations like Praxis to help them rebuild their lives after unimaginable trauma.
None of this work is remotely controversial. It doesn’t break any laws and we aren’t plotting to overthrow the government. So, you’d be forgiven for asking what is going on when Nigel Farage announces that he wants to prosecute charities who help asylum seekers to the UK and support so-called “illegal migrants”.
Volunteers mischaracterised
The Reform UK leader made the comments on a podcast whose host has written for right-wing US outlets. On it, Farage described people working for such charities as “deluded, hard-left socialist Marxists” who are “intent on destroying everything that exists”.
But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Charities across the country are filled with people from all walks of life and political leanings, who dedicate their lives to improving their communities and advocating for change.
It’s the retired nurse who volunteers at a foodbank, the law student helping rough sleepers, it’s regular, ordinary people who are doing what they can to help people in need. These are the people Farage portrays as criminals when he targets charities working with the most vulnerable and destitute families.
Does he propose we send them all to our overcrowded prisons? Many of them are working in faith-based communities and it’s difficult to imagine police storming churches, synagogues, and mosques to arrest volunteers – many of them elderly and vulnerable themselves – simply for helping a neighbour.
Escalating threats
For those of us working on migrant rights, these comments were alarming but not surprising. Farage is no stranger to pouring fuel directly onto the fire.
For years, charities supporting refugees and migrants have raised the alarm that far-right threats are escalating against us and these comments give cover for activists to redouble their attacks on charity staff and migrant communities.
Last year it was reported that half of NGOs and charities supporting people seeking refuge had received protest and safety concerns since the riots of 2024, including some leaders receiving death threats. Safe rooms have become necessity while inboxes and social media accounts are filled with racism and abuse.
Women’s groups contend with a “constant state of fear” from the extremist groups that claim to protect women and children and charities wonder if the right-wing hatred and misinformation that was piled on to City of Sanctuary will reach them next. And just yesterday, the head of MI5 warned that right-wing extremists are increasingly likely to consider terrorist attacks on British soil.
Charities working with migrant communities are the canary in the coalmine. We’ve repeatedly pointed to the dangers of the rise of far-right activity against charities and asked what it will take for political leaders to take the threat seriously, and to protect migrant communities and broader civil society.
A coordinated and robust response from government has been sorely lacking, while the list of targets has grown to include major, beloved charities like the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Their volunteers have been physically attacked, as staff and volunteers deemed “traitors” had their names, photos, and home addresses published online.
Just this month, a local fundraiser for Cancer Research UK was postponed because of far-right protests. This is the climate that has given Farage the confidence to threaten charities with prison.
Tidal wave of hostility
Enough is enough. We live in a democracy, where the right to civil society is essential not only for holding government to account but to advocate for social change. It is nothing short of authoritarian to crack down on the ability of charities to speak out for, support and represent the communities they serve.
But migrant charities cannot push back alone. Last year, the government launched its Civil Society Covenant, promising a stronger partnership with voluntary organisations and recognising the sector’s vital role in public life. Those commitments will fall flat if threats against charities are met with silence. It is not an option for government or civil society to let statements and policies like Farage’s degrade our national conversation.
We need civil society to unite against this tidal wave of hostility, and I know that won’t be easy. I recognise that these are politically uncertain times, and that organisations are navigating genuine risks.
Funders are skittish about supporting life-saving work in case a loud minority floods their inboxes and demand on our services have never been higher. But moments of volatility are precisely when solidarity matters most and this isn’t the time for those with the least to lose to hedge their bets.
Until then, it’s business as usual at Praxis. And my message to Farage is as follows: I am not going to prison for helping homeless people off the street. My staff are not going to prison for helping women and children living in poverty and destitution. And we will continue to work for those who need us most.
Just yesterday, we launched A Migrant’s Guide – a free digital resource written by and for migrants. These are people who lived through the worst of the hostile environment and want to give others a fair crack at living and working in our communities as our friends and colleagues.
Will it attract criticism? Almost certainly. But it will take more than a pair of handcuffs to stop us.
