Labour will force every borough to take ‘fair share’ of migrants, says Rayner

Labour has also pledged to clear the 35,000 migrants currently being housed in hotels in a year.

The Tories have warned such a situation could result in 1,300 new asylum seekers being housed in every local authority if the number of illegal migrants arriving in the UK continues at current levels in the next Parliament.

Speaking about the proposal, Rayner told the BBC: “Every borough has an obligation to take on their fair share of asylum seekers, but not everyone in hotels that are currently in hotels will be given a right to remain in the UK.

“Some of them shouldn’t be in the UK, but they’re in the UK and they’re costing taxpayers lots of money because we are not treating people fairly and dealing with the backlog.

“That’s what Labour’s going to do, and that will cost us a lot less if we process people fairly, humanely, and those that have a right to be here are treated with the respect and dignity that the British people would expect us to.

“For people who are genuinely seeking asylum, those that shouldn’t be here will be removed.”

She added: “When people have been processed, they either have a right to be here and therefore we need to have the housing supply, which is what the Tories have failed to deliver on.

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“That’s why we’re going to build the 1.5 million homes we need across the UK.”

Despite the warning, Labour claimed it plans to fast-track asylum cases to clear the backlog and set up a new enforcement and returns unit to deport those without a right to remain in the UK.

However, Labour-controlled councils accommodate around four times as many asylum seekers in hotels compared to Tory areas.

There were 5,435 asylum seekers housed in hotels in councils where the Tories currently had outright control or the Mayor was Conservative.

The figure stood at 20,401 in Labour areas, with just 3,227 in Liberal Democrat-run authorities.

Tory sources have also claimed that Labour could take in 125,000 migrants if it entered a “fair share” agreement with the European Union.

Ex-Immigration Minister Tom Pursglove said: “This latest admission confirms that Labour stands for nothing but unlimited and uncontrolled illegal migration.

“With Labour giving preferential treatment to illegal migrants and asylum seekers for hundreds of thousands of homes across the country, it is clear that they’d rather roll out the red carpet than stop the boats.”

Ex-Education Minister Robert Halfon also told GB News: “We haven’t got enough council or social houses as it is. She [Rayner] wants to give them to migrants.”

Bill Rammell, who served as a Labour Minister and was Halfon’s predecessor as the MP for Harlow, responded by discussing post-Brexit immigration trends.