Setting out our #ESOLasks

A lot has happened in the last few months. I've become Co-Chair of NATECLA, joined the staff team at North West Migrants Forum (whilst its CEO is breaking new ground as the first Black Mayor in the north of Ireland); all whilst continuing to do bits of consultancy.

Life's not as stable or as predictable as it was before I left City & Guilds, but it's mostly enjoyable and increasingly feels productive.

Like many of us, I was caught out by Rishi Sunak's 'rain-dance' on 22 May. I really wasn't expecting a Westminster election until the autumn. And whilst NATECLA had tentatively begun to sketch out its pre-election 'asks', that work quickly needed to be stepped up.

As the first NATECLA Chair to be based outside England, I was conscious of the need to reflect the reality that this 'national' organisation actually operates across at least five jurisdictions. I wanted us to avoid the familiar Anglocentric trap of conflating 'the UK' with institutions, policies and discourses that apply only within England.

But at the same time I also wanted some appropriate messaging and talking points for candidates and parties standing for Westminster constituencies in NI, Scotland and Wales. So instead of producing one set of #ESOLasks, we produced four documents - reflecting what we want to see delivered at Holyrood, Stormont and Cardiff Bay, as well as through Westminster.

Building a social media campaign for four distinct audiences hasn't been straightforward, especially when there are plenty of common threads (e.g. wanting an end to 'Hostile Environment' and the hideous scapegoating of migrants) we also want to project. But all four seem to have been well-received within the sector.

You can find all four #ESOLasks documents here: NATECLA #ESOLasks, and click on the slides below so see each of them at a glance.