Edinburgh MP Christine Jardine says Americans fleeing Donald Trump should get fast-track visa to UK
Americans wanting to escape the "nightmare" of Donald Trump's presidency could be offered a "fresh dream" by the UK, Edinburgh MP Christine Jardine has said.
Leading a debate at Westminster on her call for fast-track visas for skilled American workers, she said for many in the US, it was "no longer the land of the free".
And Ms Jardine, Lib Dem MP for Edinburgh West, said that after she proposed the idea of fast-track visas for US citizens wanting to flee Trump's America at the Lib Dem conference in April last year almost 200 Americans had got in touch with her.
"I was inundated with messages from those in America who no longer wished to live under a Trump presidency. They wanted to feel safe and to contribute to a country much more in line with their values than the country they were born into increasingly is.
"Those people felt that a lifeline had been offered. I cannot express how relieved the nearly 200 people who wrote to me were that another way might become possible for them.
"Some of the people who wrote to me told me of their visceral fears, and their worries for their children or for the LGBT community they are part of or work with. Some are terrified they will lose their jobs in the swingeing cuts of the Trump administration."
And she said she believed welcoming these Americans would benefit the UK and its economy.
"Why not offer sanctuary to those who want to flee, if they can make our country a better, more prosperous place for our people in the process?
“For many, the American dream is now a nightmare, but we could turn that around and offer them a fresh dream."
Edinburgh South West Labour MP Scott Arthur spoke of a constituent who had come here from the US to start a business, but now felt betrayed by the changes in the indefinite leave to remain arrangements.
He said: “When we are thinking about attracting people and their skills, we have to think about how those people are supported. Does the hon. Member agree that when people come here under an agreement, we must uphold our side of it?”
Ms Jardine said she completely agreed. “There is a danger to our international reputation, as well as our economy, if we become somewhere people cannot trust that.”
Replying to the debate, junior Home Office minister Mike Tapp said the UK and US were close allies and partners.
He said: “We are not considering a fast-track visa for skilled US citizens, and I do not believe we need one. Our immigration system already offers a broad range of routes to target talented individuals who want to come and work or study in the UK.
“Alongside that, our increasingly digitised border—with priority fees for quick visa transactions—means that people can come to the UK quickly and easily.”
In the year ending September 2025, more than 5,000 Americans had used the skilled worker route to come and fill roles in the UK.