Borders minister Anna Turley has defended plans to house 1,200 migrants near Piddington, an Oxfordshire village with a population of approximately 400. The decision comes amid a broader initiative to ensure asylum seekers are not solely placed in economically disadvantaged areas, a point echoed by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Under the Home Office's proposals, a former military base in Bicester, located near Piddington, will serve as accommodation for 1,250 male asylum seekers. Residents of Piddington have voiced opposition, with some voting to hold a symbolic referendum on leaving the United Kingdom.
Turley stated on LBC that the government is working towards a "fair and equitable system" for distributing asylum seekers across the country to limit the impact on individual local communities. She emphasized that the asylum seekers would be housed on a "self-contained site" at the former military base, where "everything they need will be on that site."
"They will be allowed out, but everything they need will be on that site. So they will be managed. They will be contained," Turley explained, adding that the government is exploring other secure and managed locations, including former industrial sites and student accommodation, as more affordable alternatives to hotels. The minister asserted that this approach allows authorities to "manage the system" and know the whereabouts of individuals.
When questioned about the disparity in numbers between the migrants and the village population, Turley reiterated the importance of fairness. She noted that many working-class communities have already shouldered a disproportionate burden of housing asylum seekers. The use of managed facilities like former military bases, she argued, is a more effective method for containing individuals and mitigating the impact on local populations compared to other arrangements.