Ex-Tory MP Alex Stafford has blasted Labour after it was accused of hatching a plan to “scatter” asylum seekers across Britain.
Illegal migrants could be put ahead of Britons in the housing queue as the Government begins its bid to shift them away from large military sites.
Speaking on GB News, Stafford hit out at the Starmer-led Government and insisted the Tories’ idea of housing asylum seekers in disused military bases was an effective ploy.
“It’s an absolute disgrace”, he said.
Stafford hit out at Keir Starmer on GB News
PA / GB NEWS
“We know councils are facing huge pressures on the housing ladder and social housing.
“All this is going to do is flood the country with tens of thousands of people who are going to be put up in social housing, which will push up rents.
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A view of RAF ScamptonPA“Everyone who wants a social home and everyone who wants to rent a home will have their tasks made much harder.
“It will make the costs go up and make it harder to get in. I think this is an absolutely bonkers scheme.”
Asylum seekers have been moved into disused military bases like RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire.
But Labour appear to be scrapping the ploy which Stafford defended as he spoke to Patrick Christys and Emily Carver.
Stafford joined Patrick Christys and Emily Carver
GB NEWS
“They should be put in the disused army bases, the places they were before”, he said.
“That would actually keep rents down. This flooding the market with tens of thousands of people is crazy and sends the wrong message to people.
“It says that if you work hard, you save, you pay the system for decades, you will be ignored, but you come over on a boat a couple of weeks ago, you’ll get a social house.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has already announced the scrapping of Bibby Stockholm, a barge that was being used to accommodate migrants.
One Government source told The Times: “It’s all about having a more equitable dispersal of asylum seekers. Otherwise you have these areas that have concentrated numbers and that is what we got in areas with hotels and large sites.
“That creates a whole host of challenges, meaning services in those areas are then stretched and those asylum seekers can’t get the basic or crucial support they need.”