Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called on wealthier parts of the country to take on a greater share of asylum accommodation, arguing that Britain’s poorest communities have been left to shoulder a disproportionate burden of the government’s dispersal system.
Speaking to GB News in his first broadcast interview since taking office, Mr Burnham said: “I do have to say that 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.” He added: “I do believe all parts of the country need to work… to play their part. It’s a challenging issue. We’re working at it. We understand people’s concerns.”
The comments build on a pledge Mr Burnham made after winning the Makerfield by-election in June, when he vowed to end what he called “HMO Britain” — a reference to the concentration of asylum seekers in houses in multiple occupation across lower-income areas, including his own constituency.
No Firm Pledge on Channel Crossings
Pressed on whether he could guarantee an end to small boat crossings before the next election, the Prime Minister declined to set a timeline. “It would be wrong, I think, for me to make a prediction now based on a timeline,” he said. “I would rather promise to people what I know I can do and what I know I can deliver, and that is a relentless focus on this issue to deal with the public concern.”
He pointed to his experience campaigning in Makerfield, saying: “I heard it on doorstep after doorstep in Makerfield, and I said to the people there – and I say it to the country – I hear what you say. I will be completely focused on the issue.” He insisted crossing numbers and overall immigration figures were falling, and said additional measures were in the pipeline.
His remarks came two days after 230 people crossed the Channel on a single vessel on Monday, the largest number ever recorded on one boat — surpassing a previous high of 165 set in July. Mr Burnham said the record crossing showed people-smuggling gangs were adapting their methods. “I know people will have been worried to see that image yesterday,” he said. “It shows that the gangs are changing their tactics, but so will we – we will now change our tactics, and we will be relentless in chasing them down.”
Political Reaction
The intervention drew sharp criticism from the Conservatives. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the Prime Minister of penalising middle-class communities, saying Mr Burnham was “planning to dish out another vindictive punishment beating to the UK’s middle classes,” and argued Labour had already burdened families with tax rises, regulation and higher energy costs. Philp separately argued that communities shouldn’t be housing what he called illegal immigrants anywhere, regardless of wealth, and said such migrants should be deported within a week of arrival, either to their country of origin or to a safe third country such as Rwanda. bbci
Background: Where the Pressure Is Coming From
The dispersal system has increasingly relied on HMOs because they are cheaper to run than hotels, and providers have tended to place them in lower-rent areas. London has the highest concentration of HMOs in the UK, accounting for roughly a third of the national total, but contractors have generally favoured cheaper housing stock elsewhere. In Wigan, the number of HMOs rose by 160% between 2021 and 2025, with around 160 of the borough’s 900 such properties now used to house single male asylum seekers.
Government figures show the number of asylum seekers living in privately rented houses and flats has grown by more than 7,000 since the general election, reaching 68,538, even as ministers say they are working to close asylum hotels.
The issue has become increasingly volatile in more affluent areas too. In Piddington, Oxfordshire — where average house prices last year stood at £583,750, well above the UK-wide average of £271,000 — residents voted 96% in favour of a symbolic “independence” referendum on 4 July over plans to house 1,250 asylum seekers at the nearby MoD Bicester site, a figure that would dwarf the village’s population of around 400. Parish council chairman Tim McNally said residents felt they were “taking a hit on behalf of the United Kingdom.”
Tensions have also flared in working-class communities. Last week, 15 people were arrested in Thetford, Norfolk, after anti-immigration protesters targeted properties they believed were being used to house asylum seekers, following reports that a nearby former RAF base at Barnham was being considered as accommodation. Similar protests forced the cancellation of a Home Office contract at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, earlier this year.
Mr Burnham is reportedly weighing whether to end the outsourcing of asylum accommodation altogether and to phase out the use of hotels entirely, as part of a broader overhaul of how the dispersal system operates.
