Contribution
I appreciate your efforts to regulate our debate, Madam Deputy Speaker, but might I seek your dispensation to speak for slightly longer than the limit you have imposed, given that my constituents are in the Gallery and the Opposition chose to cite a motion mentioning my constituency, without any reference to me?
The Government want to build in my constituency a portacabin village to house male asylum seekers, not in former military accommodation but in a derelict storage depot at MOD Bicester. That is totally inappropriate—on that point I wholly agree with the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey). From the moment that the Government published their proposal, with no prior notice, I have opposed it. The scheme is wrong for local communities in my constituency, wrong for asylum seekers, and wrong for the taxpayer. For three and a half months I have worked closely with local campaigners to stop the scheme, raising it here with the Prime Minister, and with the Ministers for Border Security and Asylum, and for Defence Readiness and Industry. We will continue that campaign until the Government see sense.
Allow me, Madam Deputy Speaker, to welcome my constituents from Piddington to the Gallery today. I hope it will be possible to meet them after the debate. I further welcome this chance to set out what is wrong with the proposal, because Piddington is not an appropriate site in which to house 1,256 people. Back in 2005 when the last Labour Government proposed a scheme there, a planning inspector rejected the proposal to house 750 asylum seekers—men, women and children—on site A, which he said was isolated, unsuitable and unsafe, and that the proposal would create excessive community tensions. All those things are still true today, and they apply even more to a larger site exclusively housing male asylum seekers.
I second the comments of my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith), who laid out the arguments that have been articulated so clearly by campaigners from, among other groups, “Wrong Plan. Wrong Site.” Given the legal challenge presented by that group, will the Government pause their planning application and commit to conducting a full environmental impact assessment of the site before proceeding, as required under their own policies?
I know the area very well. Before entering this House I served as county councillor for the villages of Otmoor. I spent many evenings at Piddington, Arncott and Ambrosden parish councils—I am sure other Members will be jealous of that. Since this proposal, I have visited Piddington many times, meeting members of the campaign group, knocking on the doors of my constituents, and speaking with women and men about their concerns. Local residents are worried that the site would take away stretched local resources, not only water and power, which are scarce, but also health services and policing.
Women and girls in the area have raised concerns with me about their safety. As someone who has spoken repeatedly in this House against violence against women and girls, I understand why they are fearful. As a society we are failing to protect them from predatory men, and when the worst happens, the justice system is not delivering them swift justice. No wonder they lack confidence that they will be kept safe. In that context, any proposal to house over 1,200 men in a new site adjacent to small villages would be a cause for fear and concern. I have spoken with the police and crime commissioner, with Home Office Ministers and with local police leaders about that, and I will continue to seek assurance from Ministers that the Government will provide sufficient additional police resources.
However, let us be clear: the Conservatives and Reform UK are trying to turn this into a race issue. It is not a race issue; it is a man issue. Women and girls are at risk from the behaviour of men, and tragically, nine in 10 assaults are committed by men they know. I will continue to fight for more police and court resources to keep women and girls safe.
Like the hon. Member for Beaconsfield, I condemn the Government’s proposal, but I deeply regret that today the Conservatives have sought to link that with their policy on the European Court of Human Rights. We could have united on this issue, as I have sought to do at local level with local Conservative councillors and the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire, but instead the Conservatives have sought to divide rather than unite. I will continue to work with all those in my local community who oppose this wrong-sited proposal, and to ensure that the Government think again.