UK Prime Minister Says Wealthier Areas Must House Illegal Immigrants

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that wealthier areas should house more illegal immigrants as a leafy Oxfordshire village continued its campaign against plans to house 1,250 asylum seekers at a site owned by the Ministry of Defense.Burnham made his comments in an interview with GB News in response to residents’ concerns in the village of Piddington, next to the proposed site. On July 4, 96 percent of residents voted in favor of holding a referendum on a symbolic “declaration of independence” from the rest of the UK, if the plans proceed.Children from the village last week wrote to the newly-appointed Labour prime minister to voice their fears about the use of defense site Bicester.Burnham said Labour is willing to listen to the concerns of the people of Piddington, but added that more affluent parts of the country will also have to “play their part” in taking in those who enter the country illegally, after a record number of 230 entered on a “mega dinghy” on Monday.“I have begun to become aware of the campaign from Piddington,” he said, adding that he is willing to meet with residents and hear their concerns.“I do have to say we cannot have a situation where it’s only the poorest communities in the country that receive all of the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers,” the prime minister added.“I do believe all parts of the country need to work, to play their part. It’s a challenging issue.”Piddington parish council chairman Tim MacNally wrote on X on Aug. 12 that it matters that Burnham had acknowledged Piddington, “but acknowledgement is not action.”MacNally invited the prime minister to visit the village and explain “how placing 1,250 men beside a community of just 350 adults can possibly be fair, safe or responsible.”In a video, McNally said that the proposed migrant camp would be “bigger than a prison, and yet there’d be no prison facilities,” adding that it would place a huge strain on already overstretched resources, in terms of healthcare.Musk Backed Piddington CampaignPiddington villagers have garnered high profile supporters, including Elon Musk, who posted on X on July 25: “What has happened to towns who did nothing to deserve it, like little Piddington village, will happen to all of Britain, unless there is fundamental political change.”Calum Miller, the Liberal Democrat lawmaker for Bicester and Woodstock, has found himself in a difficult position over the proposal, as his party is a strong supporter of the right to claim asylum, including for those who enter the country on small boats, often without passports. In August 2025, Miller signed an open letter in support of “unity and compassion” for asylum claimants.In a House of Commons debate on June 29, Miller told fellow lawmakers that Piddington, which is more than two miles from the nearest shop, “is simply not a suitable place in which to locate 1,250 men seeking asylum,” adding that a planning inspector rejected a proposal to host half that number there in 2003.“To my constituents, this feels like a decision taken in secret in Whitehall and imposed on Bicester, with local people treated as an afterthought,” the member of parliament said.“Opposition stretches across the political spectrum, across parties and across the community, because this isolated site is wrong for those seeking asylum and for the small villages around it, with no credible plan for local services, support or social cohesion.”The entrance to RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, England on March 29, 2023. Callum Parke/PACamps of ContentionMigrant camps are a contentious issue in Britain, where the previous Conservative government’s proposals for a similar facility at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire were scrapped by Labour in September 2024, after it determined the site would not offer value for money. Some 60 million pounds had already been spent on the site when plans were shelved, following resistance from locals.Three former military bases—Barnham in Suffolk, Bicester in Oxfordshire, and Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire—are under consideration for asylum claimants, and together those could eventually provide accommodation for around 3,750 illegal immigrants, the government announced on June 29.The government said the proposals for the camp at Piddington are still under review, but if taken forward, the disused MOD Bicester “would provide basic, safe accommodation and would be designed to be largely self‑sufficient to minimise any impact on the local community.”‘Asylum Billionaire’ Housing ContractsUK Media, including Wales Online, this week reported concerns in a North Wales village over migrant families being placed in 13 newly built homes on the site of a former village hall. Local people say they were unaware the properties were being leased to Clear Springs Ready Homes, the company used by the Home Office to provide housing for migrants claiming asylum. Clear Springs was founded by businessman Graham King, nicknamed the “asylum billionaire” in the British media.Wrexham Council in North Wales has been fighting the way asylum accommodation is being procured throughout the country. In February it unanimously supported a motion calling for asylum-housing policy to be devolved to the Welsh Government.The motion stated: “UK Government’s current policy on asylum dispersal includes the use of private sector agents acting on behalf of the Home Office to procure accommodation.“These agents operate for profit and are reported to be making substantial financial gains from public funds, with limited transparency or accountability to local authorities.”Illegal immigrants who claim asylum cannot be detained while their case is processed under current UK law, in line with the European Court for Human Rights, of which Britain remains a part.Both the Conservatives and Reform have pledged to take the UK out of the European Court for Human Rights if they come to power.Burnham told GB News that he could not commit to stopping the boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France by the next general election, which is not due until 2029.Reform leader Nigel Farage has pledged that if his party comes to power, the Royal Navy would be deployed to prevent illegal migrants making the Channel crossing on boats from ever entering the UK.The prime minister may choose to call an election earlier, depending on the opinion polls, where Reform recently lost the consistent lead it held for over a year, with a slight “Burnham bounce” toward Labour. The latest YouGov poll, published on Aug. 11, showed Labour two points ahead of Reform.