Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of copying Reform UK by targeting areas that did not vote Labour for asylum accommodation and detention centres, saying the plan is about “punishing” people.
The Tory leader claimed the Prime Minister’s policy mirrors Nigel Farage’s proposal, with the only difference being the target. She warned the controversy over Piddington, an Oxfordshire village of 400 people, is “only the start”.
Accusations of Copying Reform UK
Mrs Badenoch said: “He won't like me pointing this out, but Burnham is essentially copying a Reform UK policy, his only difference being the target.
“In May, Nigel Farage proposed putting migrant-detention centres in Green-voting areas while sparing places that elected Reform MPs.
“Burnham has chosen to put illegal migrants in quiet middle-class villages that don't vote Labour. Same rotten principle.
“But then again, we shouldn't be surprised. Burnham has arrived in Westminster with a more upbeat and chummy demeanour but he's still leading the same old Labour Party.
“The message from Burnham's Labour is clear: the people of Piddington, or Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire, or various other quaint villages near RAF bases, aren't Labour people, so they are just going to have to lump it.
“While Andy Burnham wants to punish the towns and villages that didn't vote Labour and Farage wants to punish those who won't vote Reform, I want to unite the country – and offer everyone a brighter future under the Conservatives.”
Piddington Plans and Local Reaction
Some 1,250 asylum seekers will be moved to a former military base near the village, sparking outrage. The site sits close to a recreation area, sports pitches and homes, with some residents saying gardens back directly onto it.
Furious residents have protested against the plans and, on July 4, agreed to hold an independence ballot to leave the UK, with 96% backing the move. The date was deliberately chosen to coincide with American Independence Day in a symbolic attempt to send a message to the Government.
Critics have warned Labour is planning to “spread the misery” into more affluent areas, the suburbs and shires “so everybody suffers” when they claimed the “solution is to deport illegal immigrants”.
Government Response and Wider Context
The Daily Express has previously disclosed how the Home Office plans to eventually house 40,000 asylum seekers in the South of England, the South-East, the East, the South West and London.
Home Office minister Anna Turley said communities where “housing is perhaps cheaper and more plentiful have had to take more than their fair share of asylum seekers”.
She added: “That’s put a huge burden on local communities and created real civil unrest, so we want to make sure that we’re managing the system much better in a more sustained way that’s reducing the impact on local communities.”
Mr Burnham told GB News: “I do have to say we cannot have a situation where it's only the poorest communities in the country that receive all of the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers. I do believe all parts of the country need to work, to play their part. It's a challenging issue.”
Mrs Badenoch, writing in the Daily Mail, warned of disaster. She said: “If the idea of a leafy English village with a population of 400 becoming an independent country sounds absurd, it's only slightly less absurd than the Labour Government seeking to force that same village to accept four times its population in illegal immigrants without any say in the matter.
“But Piddington is only the start.
“I know what it's like for an unsuspecting community to suddenly have hundreds of illegal immigrants arrive unannounced. As an Essex MP, I was particularly annoyed by Labour reopening the Bell Hotel as an asylum hotel in Epping, which the Conservatives had closed. That annoyance turned to fury after one of the migrants sexually assaulted a local girl.
“I spoke to people in Epping. I met some of the parents terrified for their children's safety. No one should be forced to see their local area become a no-go zone overnight, where it's not safe for young women and children. Yet this is what Burnham is telling large parts of the country they now have to stomach.”
Almost 70,000 asylum seekers are living in dispersal accommodation – houses, flats and bedsits.
