A screengrab from a House of Commons debate on housing asylum seekers in Piddington has been shared, appearing to show no female Labour backbench MPs on the green benches. The image was posted on X by Reform UK member Chris Rose, who wrote: "Not one female Labour backbencher turned up to Parliament for the debate about dumping 1,200 illegal male migrants in an army camp in Piddington."
Mr Rose added: "Labour have so far, refused to meet a single woman from Piddington. Labour only care about women when it's convenient for them." Reform UK MP Suella Braverman reposted the comment, adding: "Appalling."
Debate on Piddington asylum plans
The debate followed a symbolic referendum in Piddington last month, where villagers voted to leave the UK in response to plans to house 1,256 asylum-seeking males at a disused Ministry of Defence (MoD) site near the village. On October 14, MPs rejected a motion that would have condemned the proposal and stipulated that Britain should leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
According to Hansard, no backbench Labour MPs spoke during the debate. Only Anna Turley, Labour MP for Redcar, in her capacity as Minister for Border Security and Asylum, and Jo White, Labour MP for Bassetlaw, in her capacity as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, addressed the chamber.
Conservative criticism and government response
Conservative shadow women and equalities minister Joy Morrissey said MPs should back the proposal to "stand up for our local communities to protect them from illegal migrant men". She claimed asylum-seeking men had committed "horrific crimes" over recent years, saying they "should have been deported before they could roam our streets and forever change the lives of young women and girls".
Ms Morrissey also said Labour MPs did not want to debate "this issue because of the ideological capture of their own party — capture by people who have placed an obsession with multiculturalism above a cohesive British society".
Minister warns against ECHR exit
Home Office minister Anna Turley warned that leaving the ECHR risked "undermining crucial co-operation with European partners" to reduce the number of people seeking asylum in the UK. "The idea that leaving the convention is the way forward is not borne out by reality," she said, adding it would be "counterproductive given the risk of undermining crucial cooperation with European partners, some of which we're already still dealing with as a consequence of Brexit".
Ms Turley said the convention "delivers for people in this country too — it guarantees their rights to privacy, their rights to a fair trial, their rights to free speech and permanent privileges that cannot be chopped and changed". She added that instead of withdrawing, the Government wanted to reform how the right to a fair trial applies, "restoring the proper balance between individual rights and the public interest".
On housing migrants near Piddington, Ms Turley said "no final decision has been made", describing the villagers' campaign as "incredibly imaginative and very forceful". The Express approached Labour for comment.
