Labour will force every borough to take ‘fair share’ of migrants, says Rayner

Every borough in the UK will take its “fair share” of migrants if Labour enter No10 after July 4, deputy leader Angela Rayner has revealed.

Rayner confirmed successful asylum seekers would be eligible for places in the 1.5 million new social housing and homes built under Labour.

Labour has also pledged to clear the 35,000 migrants currently being housed in hotels in a year.

Speaking about the proposal, Rayner told the BBC: “Every borough has an obligation to take on their fair share of asylum seekers, but not everyone in hotels that are currently in hotels will be given a right to remain in the UK.

“Some of them shouldn’t be in the UK, but they’re in the UK and they’re costing taxpayers lots of money because we are not treating people fairly and dealing with the backlog.

“That’s what Labour’s going to do, and that will cost us a lot less if we process people fairly, humanely, and those that have a right to be here are treated with the respect and dignity that the British people would expect us to.

“For people who are genuinely seeking asylum, those that shouldn’t be here will be removed.”

She added: “When people have been processed, they either have a right to be here and therefore we need to have the housing supply, which is what the Tories have failed to deliver on.

“That’s why we’re going to build the 1.5 million homes we need across the UK.”

Labour claimed it plans to fast-track asylum cases to clear the backlog and set up a new enforcement and returns unit to deport those without a right to remain in the UK.

However, Labour-controlled councils accommodate around four times as many asylum seekers in hotels compared to Tory areas.

There were 5,435 asylum seekers housed in hotels in councils where the Tories currently had outright control or the Mayor was Conservative.

The figure stood at 20,401 in Labour areas, with 3,227 in Liberal Democrat-run authorities.