“The SNP Members of Parliament regularly criticise the government for not being hospitable, not taking more asylum seekers – yet the number of Scottish local authorities taking new people into the country is shockingly low.”
A Conservative MP whose constituency is home to a high number of asylum seekers fears the recent protests seen in Liverpool could be repeated across the UK
Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, also told GB News there was a higher number of asylum seekers being sent to deprived red-wall constituencies.
He told Philip Davies and Esther Mcvey: “At the moment we have approximately 250 asylum seekers in one single hotel. Were it not for me going to the Home Office I suspect we would probably have seen hundreds of more asylum seekers. What tended to see over the last few years is the likes of those red wall areas, Blackpool and Stoke being a classic example, getting far more asylum seekers than the traditional areas of the home counties in the SouthEast.
“And this is worrying from a number of different angles. Not just do these red wall areas invariably have more social problems, there are more questions over public services as well. So, this is putting additional burdens to the local authorities in those areas compared to more affluent parts of the country, which are probably a better place to assimilate people.”
He added: “Clearly, there’s probably going to be cheaper accommodation in the likes of my constituency, and some of those northern Mill Towns, like, Bradford. So, if cost is the bottom line, then you can see why this approach would be followed. However, I think you have to look at the whole perspective here. Northern councils, who are already facing significant challenges, have to adjust to this extra burden, while those southern councils who tend to be more affluent and tend to have less social pressures placed upon them, are getting away scot-free. And the classic example will be Scotland – where the SNP Members of Parliament regularly criticise the government for not being hospitable, not taking more asylum seekers – yet the number of Scottish local authorities taking new people into the country is shockingly low.
“There is an imbalance across the country and we have to look at all things, not just the bottom line to the taxpayer, but the broader picture of how this is affecting communities such as Blackpool where they have hundreds of extra people placed upon them.”
Speaking more on what he is having to deal with after the Knowsley Riots last weekend, the MP added: “Touchwood, we don’t have any similar tensions in Blackpool so to speak, but what I can tell you is this has been the number one issue in my post back for the last few years. I can barely knock on a door in Blackpool or go to the local pub for a pint without somebody tapping me on the shoulder and saying ‘For goodness sake, get a grip of this crisis’ and ‘When on earth is the Home Office going to start processing people who are already here’.
“So I think the public is sick and tired of this issue. I think the Home Office understands this, certainly the political leadership from the Home Secretary suggests so and we’ve been promised legislation from the Prime Minister. This needs to come through now as a matter of urgency because the longer this goes on, more and more of the fear that we will see those images of Knowsley last week repeated elsewhere across the country.”
