Asylum votes show people want help, says Badenoch

The Conservative leader says referendums on whether asylum seekers should be housed in military camps are "a good way of showing the strength of public feeling".

Kemi Badenoch supported calls for referendums on housing these migrants in Suffolk, including at RAF Barnham, and said they showed people were "asking for help".

When questioned about a lack of evidence indicating that asylum seekers were responsible for increased crime, she responded: "This is what is said until something bad happens."

The government said accommodation at military bases was a "temporary" option and also a cheaper alternative to hotels.

The Home Office is considering sending more than 1,000 asylum seekers to RAF Barnham where they can stay while their applications are processed.

But with some residents expressing concern about a possible increase in anti-social behaviour and crime, the parish council is considering whether to hold an independence referendum.

Meanwhile, Reform UK members on Suffolk County Council have called for a public referendum on whether they should be housed at the RAF base.

"[Referendums] are [people's] way of showing how they feel and I support them in that," said Badenoch, speaking to the BBC ahead of her party conference.

"What this really is, is people asking for help and I want them to know that the Conservative Party is listening.

"We have got a plan - a borders plan. Leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, basically making sure that we take control of our streets and communities."

Last week, the prime minister said he was aware of residents' concerns about the use of military bases, and "where there are changes which we can make, I'm always open to making those changes".

The government does not record criminal offences by immigration status, but according to analysis by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, foreign nationals in England and Wales are convicted at roughly the same rate as British nationals.

Any vote for independence in Barnham would be purely symbolic, and it would not affect how the village is governed.

The opposition Green Party in Suffolk has dismissed the idea as an attempt to deflect from Reform's "own lack of policies", while the Labour group said the council had "better things to spend its money on".

Badenoch also said she understood why the Reform-run Essex County Council had put security officers on the streets of Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford to reassure people worried about asylum seekers from the nearby camp at MDP Wethersfield.

"People are right to be concerned... but I don't really know who their security officers are - I don't think that's the right way of doing these things.

"We want the law to be enforced, the people who are meant to enforce the law are police officers and I have a plan to bring back more police officers."

The chief constable of Essex Police recently said local people should not be worried and that crime associated with Wethersfield was "very low".

But Badenoch replied: "This is what is said until something bad happens.

"The job of police officers is crime prevention, not waiting until the crime happens."

The Tory leader pointed to the migrant resident of the Bell Hotel in Epping, who was jailed for sexual assault last year.

"We need to be very concerned about these people coming into our country, with no vetting," Badenoch continued.

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