Burnham's migrants plan just proves he'll betray those who don't back Labour, Kemi Badenoch says

By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 22:16, 13 August 2026 | Updated: 22:16, 13 August 2026 Kemi Badenoch has accused Andy Burnham of putting illegal migrants in middle-class areas to punish residents for not voting Labour. The Tory leader claimed the Prime Minister believes that people living in 'quaint villages' do not support his party and therefore must 'lump' the arrival of hundreds of men who have crossed the Channel in dinghies. She likened his 'rotten principle' to Reform's recent proposal to put detention centres in places with Green MPs. Mrs Badenoch said that despite his 'more upbeat' demeanour, Mr Burnham was 'just as bad' as his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer as is leading the 'same spiteful class-warfare Labour Party'. Her comments come after the PM defended the controversial plan to set up a camp for 1,250 male asylum seekers on the site of a former military base near the Oxfordshire village of Piddington, population 400, which is in a Lib Dem constituency. His Government is also planning to move a similar number of migrants to disused RAF Linton-on-Ouse, within a Tory seat in North Yorkshire. Mr Burnham declared that middle England would have to take in more migrants as '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 is said to be determined to change the current system, in which many asylum seekers are put up in Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in deprived English towns, even though it will 'cost more money to do it fairly'. The Oxfordshire village of Piddington, where the Home Office wants to house 1,250 migrants Home Office minister Anna Turley also said that housing asylum seekers in areas with 'cheaper' housing has 'created real civil unrest'. But writing in the Daily Mail, Mrs Badenoch said the real reason for the policy was political. 'He won't like me pointing this out, but Burnham is essentially copying a Reform UK policy, his only difference being the target. 'In May, Nigel Farage proposed putting migrant-detention centres in Green-voting areas, while sparing places that elected Reform MPs. 'Burnham has chosen to put illegal migrants in quiet middle-class villages that don't vote Labour. Same rotten principle.' She went on: 'The message from Burnham's Labour is clear: the people of Piddington, or Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire, or various other quaint villages near RAF bases, aren't Labour people, so they are just going to have to lump it.' Even a Labour MP has now spoken out against the plan for a migrant camp in Linton-on-Ouse. Rachael Maskell said it would create a ratio of six men to every woman in the 600-person village next to the former air force station. She also pointed out the base was next to a primary school and nursery and was served by only four buses a day to York, the city she represents.  A Labour source hit back at Mrs Badenoch, saying: 'This takes some brass neck from the party who lost control of illegal migration and put 56,000 asylum seekers in 400 hotels, costing the British people £9 million a day.' A Government spokesman said: 'We are closing every asylum hotel and moving asylum seekers into basic accommodation, including former military sites. 'The total number of asylum seekers in accommodation is decreasing, and the number of asylum seekers in hotels has fallen by 35 per cent in the last year. Overall asylum costs are already down by £1 billion under this Government. 'We are working to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, working closely with local authorities, and listening to local concerns to reduce the impact on communities.'