Wealthy Areas Must Take Their Share of Asylum Seekers, Says Burnham
Andy Burnham has said affluent parts of the country must house more asylum seekers, in a shift on how they are dispersed, after a village revolt over plans for a centre housing more than a thousand people. He also pledged to “change tactics” to deal with the larger boats now crossing the Channel. The intervention is likely to inflame a fraught debate over where asylum seekers are placed.
Asylum accommodation has become a political flashpoint, with hotels and large sites concentrated in poorer areas that ministers say have borne an unfair share, fuelling local anger and protests. Mr Burnham’s call to spread placements to wealthier districts is an attempt to defuse that grievance, but it risks provoking resistance in the shires and legal wrangling with councils. His promise to rethink tactics on Channel crossings comes as smugglers pack ever more people onto each boat, complicating interception. The politics are treacherous, with Reform pressing hard on immigration. Watch how councils and residents in affluent areas respond.