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10
Sept
MP accuses Prime Minister of 'class warfare' over housing asylum seekers
A North Yorkshire MP has accused the Prime Minister of engaging in “class warfare” over suggestions that asylum seekers should be housed in middle-class areas as he stepped up his opposition to plans for a migrant centre at former RAF Linton-on-Ouse.
Sir Alec Shelbrooke’s comments have been submitted to next week’s meeting of North Yorkshire Council’s Selby and Ainsty area committee.
The Conservative MP for Wetherby and Easingwold, whose constituency includes Boroughbridge and many villages near Harrogate, said there was “widespread anger” at the government’s approach.
And he described suggestions that migrants should be accommodated in middle-class communities as “an appalling play at class warfare”.
His comments come amid Home Office consideration of using the former RAF base to accommodate up to 1,200 single adult male asylum seekers.
Sir Alec said Linton-on-Ouse was the “wrong location” for such a facility, raising concerns about infrastructure, highways, security and the potential impact on public services.
Linton-on-Ouse. Pic: Linton-on-Ouse Action Group
He said the proposal would place up to 1,200 men in a village which he said had an adult population of about 600 and highlighted the proximity of the site to a primary school.
The MP also claimed there was no clear plan to address concerns from utility companies and said the local highway network was insufficient for the additional daily traffic.
Sir Alec criticised the potential use of government powers to secure permission for the scheme rather than going through the local planning authority.
He said such a move would “ride roughshod over the democratic process”, adding that he had signed a cross-party letter with other North Yorkshire MPs opposing the proposals.
The MP warned councillors that the impact could extend well beyond Linton-on-Ouse.
He claimed the Home Office had no plan to provide additional resources for policing or healthcare and questioned how medical provision for people accommodated at the base would affect existing NHS services.
Sir Alec said doctors providing care at Linton could otherwise be treating patients elsewhere, including in Selby.
He said:
This plan will affect us all in North Yorkshire.
It is the wrong plan in the wrong place and I urge you all to join our campaign against the government’s proposal at Linton-on-Ouse.
The Home Office is considering the former RAF station as potential asylum accommodation, but no final decision on its use has yet been made.
Last month, Andy Burnham stated that wealthier and middle-class areas across the UK must house more asylum seekers so that poorer communities do not carry an unfair burden.
His comments came in response to a question about protests which have taken place in the village of Piddington, Oxfordshire, over plans to provide accommodation for asylum seekers on a nearby former military base.
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