The UK's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told middle-class communities in Britain they must “play their part” in accommodating asylum seekers, as the faces a spiralling migration crisis and mounting pressure over the use of hotels and privately rented homes.
“I do have to say that 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,” Burnham said on Tuesday. “I do believe all parts of the country need to work... to play their part. It’s a challenging issue. We’re working at it. We understand people’s concerns.”
The Prime Minister refused to rule out placing more asylum seekers in wealthier and traditionally less affected areas. It comes as the Government attempts to wind down the use of asylum hotels while increasingly relying on privately rented houses and flats. Since the election, the number of migrants living in privately rented accommodation has risen by more than 7,000 to 68,538.
Jake Wallis Simons said Burnham's comments were “insulting”, arguing that "the middle classes didn't work so hard to see their areas ruined by illegal migrants", nor had they been consulted about whether they even agreed to asylum accommodation in their communities. "The PM is insulting for implying we aren’t doing our bit. But who asked us to put up with this in the first place?” he wrote in The Telegraph. “...it is not some natural disaster afflicting our country that requires us all to pull together and share the burden."
Burnham has previously campaigned against the use of hotels and houses in multiple occupation in working-class communities, particularly in his Makerfield constituency. After winning the June by-election, he promised to tackle what he called “HMO Britain” and overhaul the asylum accommodation system. The Prime Minister also declined to promise that Channel crossings would be stopped before the next general election, despite a record 230 people arriving on a single boat from France on Monday. “It would be wrong, I think, for me to make a prediction now based on a timeline,” Burnham said.
His comments came as pressure mounts over the scale of the Channel crossings. Monday's arrival surpassed the previous record of 165 people on a single boat, set only last month. The issue has already sparked protests in communities where asylum accommodation has been proposed. Last week, 15 people were arrested in Thetford, Norfolk, after anti-migration protesters targeted properties they believed were being used to house asylum seekers. Demonstrations have also taken place around RAF Barnham, amid reports that the former military site could be converted into asylum accommodation.
The middle-class Essex town of Epping has become another flashpoint. Protests there ultimately contributed to the cancellation of a Home Office contract to accommodate asylum seekers at the Bell Hotel. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, accused Burnham of imposing the consequences of Labour's immigration policies on communities across Britain. “Andy Burnham is planning to dish out another vindictive punishment beating to the UK’s middle classes,” he said, accusing Labour of imposing higher taxes and regulation before now proposing to place more asylum accommodation in middle-class neighbourhoods.
