Burnham Urges Wealthier UK Areas to House More Asylum Seekers as 97,519 Receive Support
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 11
Burnham Urges Wealthier UK Areas to House More Asylum Seekers as 97,519 Receive Support
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 11
Summary
Andy Burnham said wealthier parts of the UK should take more asylum seekers, arguing poorer communities cannot keep absorbing most refugee and asylum dispersal.
Piddington, Oxfordshire, protests over plans to use a former military base near Bicester helped trigger the remarks, as Labour pushes to replace costly asylum hotels with military-site accommodation.
97,519 people were receiving asylum support at the end of March, including 20,885 in hotels, while the north-west had the highest regional total at 19,578 and one of the highest rates per head.
Chris Philp rejected Burnham's approach, saying Conservatives would instead leave the ECHR and deport illegal migrants within a week to their home country or a safe third country.
Burnham's call echoes his 2018 complaint that Greater Manchester was carrying disproportionate numbers, underscoring a long-running fight over how asylum housing is spread across Britain.