OPINION: The people of Piddington have spoken for the entire UK, but the Government won’t listen, writes Jon Walker.
Andy Burnham leaves 10 Downing Street in central London (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
It may be the most polite revolution ever. The people of Piddington, a picturesque village in Oxfordshire, have voted to leave the United Kingdom, in protest at plans to house 1,250 asylum seekers next door. Andy Burnham plans simply to ignore them.
But he does so at his peril. Because anger at the placement of asylum seekers is only going to grow until the Government grasps the nettle and ends the chaos in our immigration system. It appears 311 villagers voted in the referendum, with 285 supporting independence. That means pretty much everyone took part, as the 2021 census recorded the parish’s population as 358.
You can perhaps understand why the idea of accommodating 1,250 asylum seekers nearby caused some alarm.
It would be a big change, no matter who the new residents were.
And the Home Office has made it clear that it believes some, at least, of the overseas arrivals have pretty unpleasant attitudes towards women and children, after it published leaflets instructing them not to commit horrific crimes.
But, of course, Piddington can’t really separate itself from the UK. And the Government has stated bluntly that it will ignore the village’s concerns.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, a member of Andy Burnham’s cabinet, said the Government would “make sure that all communities are doing their bit in order to take people, many of whom will be fleeing persecution, will need a safe haven in Britain”.
And she made it crystal clear that what Labour considers wealthy areas – such as nice Oxfordshire villages – would need to accept migrants.
Ms Nandy told Sky News: “We don’t think it’s acceptable for all of the burden of shouldering not just asylum accommodation, but also many other forms of temporary accommodation to fall on poorer communities.”
Oxfordshire Village Holds ‘Independence Referendum’ Over Plans To House Asylum-Seekers nearby (Image: Getty)
The trouble is that not every protest will be so polite.
The Piddington protest is reminiscent of the charming Ealing comedy Passport to Pimlico, released in 1949.
We’ve seen other scenes that are far less charming. There have been riots and, more recently, balaclava-clad gangs on the streets near ports.
This is not acceptable. Concern about the state of our immigration system does not justify violence or intimidation. Personally, I’m very glad to see politicians promising to ban face coverings such as balaclavas in public.
The fact is that our society is going to become more angry and more divided for as long as immigration is broken.
It makes no sense to allow people to enter our country unlawfully – deliberately evading immigration controls by taking a small boat across the Channel – and then to give them food and housing, rather than removing them.
Andy Burnham will find that voters are in no mood to be lectured by him or his Cabinet colleagues.
He will pay a heavy price at the next election for Labour’s refusal to fix our broken immigration system.