The women of Piddington should not be punished because Labour can't control our borders, writes Joy Morrissey MP

They are deeply worried about 1,256 adult male illegal immigrants being housed literally over the back fence of their village.

There are only 350 residents of Piddington, and I know these wonderful women don’t want to be punished because of this government’s failure to secure our borders.

The residents of Piddington are quite rightly worried about a potential increase in sexual crime if this proposal goes ahead. They are worried about their children’s safety. And, quite frankly, they don’t want their quiet village ruined.

I agree with them, I stand with the residents of Piddington.

The women I met are not extremists. They are not intolerant. They certainly are not racist. They love where they live and want to raise their families in safety.

They should not have to apologise for that.

Women in Piddington have every right to ask questions. The Government has even found it necessary to issue illegal immigrants with guidance explaining that rape, sexual assault and domestic abuse are crimes in Britain. That document recently released by the Home Office is as terrifying as it is ridiculous.

When the Government is telling newly arrived men that women have the same rights as men and that sexual violence is illegal, it is hardly unreasonable for local women to ask who is being placed on their doorstep.

Women’s safety matters. Children’s safety matters. And local residents' views matter.

Yet Labour seems to have decided that the people of Piddington simply must lump it.

The same message is being delivered to communities across the country, from Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire to other villages surrounding former military sites.

If you live in a community that Labour thinks can absorb the consequences of its disastrous immigration policy, apparently your concerns can simply be ignored.

The Conservatives will leave the ECHR, and we will have a strong deterrent to would-be illegal immigrants – illegal immigrants will not be able to claim asylum and will be removed. They will never be permanently settled in Britain. This is how we end illegal immigration.

Labour don’t believe illegal immigrants should be immediately deported – hence they are being foisted on villages like Piddington.

Andy Burnham’s Labour wants to punish towns and villages that did not vote Labour and tell them to accept whatever Whitehall imposes upon them.

Whilst Nigel Farage and Reform want to disperse illegal immigrants to Green-voting council areas.

Only the Conservatives have a plan to deal with this, so villages like Piddington are not put in this situation in the first place.

Rather than treating Piddington residents as an inconvenience, we will put the safety of British women and children first.

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Joy Morrissey MP is the Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities.

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