Russian oligarchs’ properties should be used to help refugees says Surrey councillor
Russian oligarchs’ properties in Surrey should be used to help Ukranian refugees, a councillor has said.
Another urged every member of Surrey County Council to open their doors to the people fleeing the Russian leader’s invasion of their country.
All Surrey’s county councillors pledged solidarity with the Ukrainian people at their meeting yesterday (March 22).
They agreed to look for any public buildings that could provide a safe haven for refugees for as long as is necessary, and that council buildings will continue to fly the Ukrainian flag as a gesture of support until hostilities cease.
Council leader Tim Oliver said: “The Russian attack on Ukraine is not just an invasion of a sovereign state, it is an attack on everything we believe in and stand for.
“It is an attack on freedom, democracy and self-determination.”
He said he saw the level of support for Ukraine first-hand at a rally in Weybridge on Sunday afternoon, and was “truly heartened” to see people coming together to support those “displaced by this despicable invasion”.
Weybridge is home to the private estate St George’s Hill, where luxury mansions are protected by security guards and barriers.
Liberal Democrats group leader Will Forster (Woking South) said: “Let’s be honest, Surrey has got a significant link to oligarchs, whether that be in Chelsea, in St George’s Hill, or in Sutton Place in my division.
“We have allowed Russian oligarchs to hide here for too long and that is going to involve us making some very painful decisions to stand up to them.”
Councillor Chris Townsend (Ashtead Independent, working with Ashtead Residents) said: “There are oligarchs around. We ought to be using their funds, their property to actually help these refugees and rebuild once the war is over the state of Ukraine.”
Chelsea Football Club, owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, has its training ground in the village of Stoke d’Abernon near Cobham.
Councillor David Lewis (Con, Cobham) said: “I look forward to the potential sale of the club and the divestment or the removal of any Russian connection with Chelsea that hopefully will result from that sale.”
Councillor Robert King (Lab & Co-op, Egham) added: “I think it’s very important that we reflect as well that peaceful and law-abiding Russians that are living in Surrey are also appalled that their country has been dragged through the mud by a vile and unreflective leader.”
Councillors said the visa scheme needed to be simplified and spoke of a child who had been granted a visa for the UK while their mother, who has a different surname, had not.
They heard the vicar of a church in Horsell near Woking had been unable to get his Ukrainian mother to this country.
Cllr Oliver said there are frustrations: “You need to prove your residency. If you are fleeing your home you are not going to be worried about taking a bank statement or utility bill with you.”
Anyone who would like to offer Ukrainians a rent-free space in their home or spare house for at least six months can sign up to the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme.
They are offering hosts £350 a month, tax-free, for up to 12 months.
Households, which need to be security checked, are not expected to provide food and living expenses but can choose to do so.
Councillor Tony Samuels (Con, Walton South & Oatlands) said: “My mother was evacuated to a Buckinghamshire family and without those wonderful people opening up their home, which they were very reluctant to do, I wouldn’t be here.
“Members, I fervently hope that all of you and all Surrey constituents take in refugees if you can. My name is on the list, is yours?”
Nick Darby, leader of the Residents’ Association and Independent Group, said: “I’m confident people in Surrey will play their part in whatever way they can, whether it be their homes, financial support or any other way.
“Harrowing sums up what we see. Millions effectively homeless without shelter, food, water, medical supplies, light or heat, so many separated from their loved ones.”
Cllr Forster added: “If we’d talked a few months ago that there would be air strikes on a maternity hospital in Europe, we just couldn’t imagine that. It does not belong in 2022.”
Sign up for Homes for Ukraine at https://homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk/