A Piddington resident has hit out at Andy Burnham’s continued silence to the ongoing protest from locals over plans to house 1,250 asylum seekers at their local ex-military site.
Speaking to GB News, Jamie Perkin declared they have tried “everything” to grab the attention of the Prime Minister to express their concerns for their tiny village of less than 400 people.
Piddington’s protest against plans to house more than 1,200 asylum seekers at a former military base has resulted in the release of an anthem, as the village prepares to hold its second independence referendum.
The song, named Battle for Britain, was created by one of the village’s supporters on social media alongside a glossy AI-made music video.
Sharing the latest on the feeling amongst residents, Mr Perkin told GB News they have “written to Downing Street every day” to try and discuss their concerns.
He said: “He hasn’t contacted us, he hasn’t spoken to us, and the Government have tried every legal way possible not to acknowledge us.
“And when I mean acknowledge us, we’ve had not a single thing. The only thing we have heard is Andy Burnham’s words to GB News a couple of weeks ago.”
Mr Perkin stressed that it is not just Piddington that is affected, but other local villages as well.
Piddington resident Jamie Perkin has told GB News that locals have tried ‘everything’ to get the attention of Andy Burnham
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GB NEWS / PIDDINGTON ROARS
He said: “I think it’s really important that we don’t just just say Piddington because this isn’t just about our little village, there’s there’s other villages surrounding the area.
“There’s Bicester too, which is the closest town. This is very much about the local area and not just our little village.”
Mr Perkin argued: “Until we get given any detail from the Government, all I would say with this is that people keep mentioning the word barracks and people keep saying, oh yeah, it’s really important that we use old army barracks to put these people in.
“What we have is an empty field with some derelict asbestos buildings, no services on a main road on a sharp bend with a 50 or 60 mile an hour road where there’s been fatalities over the last couple of years.
Piddington locals have released a music video in protest of plans to house migrants near their village
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PIDDINGTON ROARS
“All I would say is rather than saying where we think they should go, it’s about saying that this just isn’t the right place.”
Criticising the Prime Minister’s suggestion that “all areas should play their part” in housing asylum seekers, Mr Perkin made clear that in their small village, one woman will be outnumbered by 10 asylum seekers that are moved in.
He said: “All I’m going to say and all we are trying to say is that we will do our bit, and Andy Burnham’s asking people to do that bit. But doing your bit is not having four men to one villager, or 10 men to one lady in our village.
“That isn’t doing our bit. And I think everyone nationwide knows that we have a very large problem with asylum seekers at the moment.”
Mr Perkin told GB News that female villagers will be outnumbered ’10 to one’ by asylum seekers in Piddington
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GB NEWS
Andy Burnham has previously told GB News of the situation in Piddington: “I have begun to become aware of the campaign from Piddington, and I will listen to what people are saying and respond to the concerns that they are putting forward.
“I don’t know the issue yet in detail, but in some ways, as I understand it, it is about creating secure space and not have the HMO issues that you were talking about earlier.
“It’s obviously going to be challenging, but I am prepared always to listen to people, to work with people and to pick up legitimate concerns, and I will address those concerns.
“I do have to say 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.”