Burnham urges affluent UK regions to share responsibility for asylum seeker housing

Andy Burnham called for a fairer spread of asylum seeker housing, insisting that affluent areas should not be exempt while poorer communities continue to host most arrivals. His comments followed protests in Piddington, Oxfordshire, where residents oppose a plan to locate accommodation on a former military site. Burnham said he would look into the concerns of locals but maintained that every part of the country must play its part.

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp rejected the suggestion, arguing that illegal immigrants should be removed rather than housed anywhere. Labour has pledged to scrap costly asylum hotels and overhaul the dispersal system, which currently places thousands in community housing and military sites. Government figures show 97,519 people receiving asylum support, with the highest numbers in the north-west, London and the West Midlands.