UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham is facing a growing political row over asylum accommodation after an investigation identified 42 Labour-held constituencies that could be pushed to take in more asylum seekers under his call for wealthier areas to “play their part”.
The analysis, carried out by UK-based GB News, comes amid mounting local anger over Burnham’s separate plan to house 1,250 migrants at the former MoD Bicester site near the Oxfordshire village of Piddington.
What Is Andy Burnham’s New Migrant Dispersal Plan?
Burnham told GB News last month that wealthier communities should help shoulder more of the burden of housing asylum seekers, arguing that poorer parts of the country had already done enough. He said Britain could not continue a situation in which it was only the poorest communities in the country that received all of the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers, a remark that has since been used as the basis for identifying which affluent Labour seats could be expected to take on a greater share.
Which 42 Labour Seats Could Be Affected?
Using Burnham’s comments as a benchmark, GB News ranked the 42 Labour-held seats that sit above Bicester & Woodstock, the constituency covering Piddington, on both median house prices and median weekly wages, effectively applying what the broadcaster dubbed a “Piddington test”. Bicester & Woodstock has a median house price of £390,000 and median weekly wages of £862, figures the 42 identified seats all exceed.
Among the constituencies named in the analysis are Altrincham & Sale West, Battersea, Beckenham & Penge, Bexleyheath & Crayford, Chelsea & Fulham, Cities of London & Westminster, Clapham & Brixton Hill and Earley & Woodley, with the broadcaster reporting that 25 of the 42 are covered by local authorities currently housing fewer asylum seekers in supported accommodation than their regional average.
Why Did Piddington Become The Benchmark For The Plan?
The Oxfordshire village has become a flashpoint in the wider asylum accommodation debate after it emerged that up to 1,250 migrants could be housed at the nearby former MoD Bicester site, a proposal that has drawn sustained local opposition. Downing Street sources have described sending asylum seekers to more expensive postcodes as a point of principle for the government, framing the Bicester plan as part of a broader push to spread accommodation more evenly across the country rather than concentrating it in lower-income areas.
How Have UK’s Labour MPs Responded To The Plan?
GB News said it contacted all 42 Labour MPs representing the identified seats to ask whether they would support their constituencies taking on more asylum accommodation, but only one, Neil Coyle, the MP for Bermondsey & Old Southwark, responded.
Coyle pointed to his area’s existing record, telling local outlet reporters, “We had one hostel and two hotels under the last Tory Government,” adding that his constituency was proud to do its part and noting that Labour had since closed those hotels as part of a scheme to process asylum claims more quickly.
Separately, several Labour MPs whose seats feature on the list, including Diane Abbott, Catherine West, Emily Thornberry, Andy Slaughter, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Apsana Begum, have previously spoken in favour of greater provision for refugees, though none directly addressed the new analysis.
What Have The Conservatives And Reform UK Said?
The Conservatives have said they are considering all options to prevent asylum seekers from being moved into local authorities they control, signalling potential resistance to any expansion of dispersal into their areas. Reform UK went further, with a party spokesman branding Burnham’s approach an insult to taxpayers and councils being forced to pick up the bill, while warning that Reform-run councils would resist the policy through routes including judicial reviews and planning law challenges. The criticism reflects a broader political divide over how asylum accommodation costs and responsibilities should be distributed across different types of local authority.
What Do The Latest Asylum Accommodation Figures Show?
According to recent Home Office data, roughly 10,108 asylum seekers are currently housed in supported accommodation across the 32 local authorities covering the 42 identified seats, alongside 14 further constituencies referenced in the analysis. That figure sits against a national total of 93,293 asylum seekers in supported accommodation as of June 2026, underlining the scale of the wider system Burnham’s government is attempting to rebalance.
With the Bicester site still unresolved and no formal timetable set out for expanding dispersal into the 42 named seats, the row over where responsibility for housing asylum seekers should fall looks set to continue.
