Most voters oppose housing asylum seekers locally, a Mail on Sunday poll showed after Prime Minister Andy Burnham urged affluent areas to take migrants.
The survey of more than 10,000 people revealed that 57 per cent of voters do not want any more migrants relocated into their immediate communities, while just 15 per cent support the idea.
The findings follow remarks by Mr Burnham, who sent a shiver through suburban Middle England last week by declaring that wealthier parts of the United Kingdom must play their part in accommodating refugees.
Research conducted by polling firm Find Out Now highlighted a sharp divide between political ideals and local reality. While many residents in prosperous areas describe themselves as liberal, enthusiasm wanes when housing facilities are earmarked nearby.
Overall, 51 per cent of respondents agreed that asylum seekers should be distributed evenly across all parts of the country, compared to 26 per cent who disagreed. However, voter consensus hardened on border control, with 82 per cent stating the Government must do more to stop illegal small boat arrivals across the English Channel, and only 5 per cent disagreeing.
The survey of 10,549 adults, weighted to represent national age and gender demographics, showed the strongest opposition in Lincolnshire, where 57 per cent rejected local migrant housing. High levels of resistance were also recorded in Worcestershire, Shropshire, and County Durham. Conversely, Wiltshire proved the most receptive area, with opposition at 21 per cent, followed by East Sussex, Merseyside, and Nottinghamshire.
Military sites converted into large asylum camps
The polling figures emerge as the Government accelerates plans to convert disused military facilities into large-scale asylum accommodation centers across rural England.
In Oxfordshire, a proposed facility at a former military base near the village of Piddington has provoked severe local backlash. The new camp is designed to house 1,250 migrants, dwarfing the village's existing population of 314 residents.
Furious at the scale of the development, which lies directly adjacent to a local children's play area, the chairman of Piddington Parish Council proposed a symbolic local referendum on leaving the United Kingdom. Ministers further angered residents by submitting a fast-track planning application directly to Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, bypassing local planning authorities entirely.
Defending the project, Anna Turley, the minister for border security and asylum, insisted that residents would not be impacted. "They're not going to be in the village. Everything they need will be on that site," she said.
The expansion of military accommodation comes amid ongoing pressure along the southern coast. Earlier this week, a record 230 migrants crossed the English Channel on a single mega-dinghy before being brought ashore at the port of Dover in Kent by a Border Command vessel.
Villages raise security and schooling concerns
Concerns over infrastructure and safety have ignited protests in several other rural communities earmarked for migrant housing.
In Crowborough, East Sussex, residents have protested against plans to use a former military base as migrant accommodation through 2030. Under current provisions, asylum seekers residing at the facility receive free bus travel, which many use to visit the nearby historic spa town of Tunbridge Wells, located 20 minutes away.
In North Yorkshire, up to 1,200 male asylum seekers could be moved into a former RAF flight training school in Linton-on-Ouse. The arrival of 1,200 men in a village of 600 people would create an overwhelming ratio of six adult males for every woman in the community.
Despite Home Office guidance stating that asylum accommodation should not be situated near schools or nurseries, Linton-on-Ouse features a primary school, nursery, and children's play area less than a mile from the proposed site.
Similar fears have surfaced in west Suffolk, where plans to convert RAF Barnham near Thetford into accommodation for 1,250 asylum seekers have prompted parents to consider removing their children from Barnham School.
Edwina Currie sparks outcry over brothel remarks
The political debate surrounding local placement intensified after former Conservative health minister Edwina Currie generated widespread controversy with comments regarding the Piddington proposal.
Speaking on Times Radio, Ms Currie questioned the practicality of housing large groups of male migrants in small rural villages. "The obvious thing that 1,200 young men are going to need in the middle of a village like little Piddington is a brothel. I don't think they are going to provide that," she said.
The remarks drew swift condemnation across the political spectrum. Zia Yusuf, home affairs spokesman for Reform UK, called it "sick" to hear "a former Tory minister joking about brothels being made available to the military-aged men they allowed to break into Britain illegally." Feminist campaigner Julie Bindel condemned the statement as "an outrageous suggestion" that would prove "a recipe for disaster."
Responding to the backlash on Friday, Ms Currie stood by her comments, insisting she had used deliberate provocation to highlight the flaws of large accommodation camps. "I have managed to annoy both Reform and some of the radical feminists - two lots of my absolutely favourite people," she joked.
Ms Currie argued that housing large numbers of migrants in rural locations does not deter illegal migration. She stated that the only effective solution is to prevent arrivals entirely or expel illegal entrants "within maybe a week or ten days."
Home Office defends accommodation strategy
The Home Office defended its housing policy, reiterating its commitment to ending the use of expensive commercial hotels while balancing community impact.
"We are seeking to fairly house asylum seekers across the country, working closely with local authorities to reduce the impact on communities," a Home Office spokesperson said. "This means closing every asylum hotel while moving asylum seekers into alternative accommodation, including former military sites."
The department added that government measures were yielding financial and operational results. "It also means reducing the number in asylum accommodation. The number receiving support is now falling, and asylum costs are down by £1 billion since the General Election," the Home Office stated.
