Villagers in Linton-on-Ouse, near York, want the Prime Minister to explain why Labour is pushing ahead with plans to house asylum seekers at the old RAF base when four years ago, he opposed the idea.
Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, who resigned last Monday, said in a May 2022 he would not back the Conservative Government’s plans for an immigration processing centre.
The Tories later dropped it, but as we reported last week Labour want to go ahead now as a way to move migrants out of hotels.
Back in May 2022, this is what Keir Starmer said on a visit to Wakefield.
“To call it a plan is too grand: they don’t know what they are doing, they haven’t thought it through and they haven’t even had the decency to consult local people about it, which tells you just about everything you need to know about the state of chaos they are in.”
North Yorkshire Council, the local MP and villagers have all complained that Labour has failed to consult this time too.
Pressed by reporters about whether he supported the plan, the Labour leader said in 2022: “No, I think local people should be listened to on this.
“This is not really a plan, it is a chaotic, behind-the-curve mess yet again from the Government, which is characteristic of pretty well everything they do.”
Professor Olga Matthias from the Linton Action Group says they want to know why Keir Starmer has had a change of mind.
“It’s extraordinary, isn’t it. How can Keir Starmer speak so compellingly and passionately when he’s in opposition, and then behave in exactly the opposite way when he’s in power.
“He accused the conservatives of behaving chaotically, and yet he was trying to get it sneaked through parliament, where even the speaker said that they were behaving abominably.”
YorkMix will update this story when we hear back from the PM’s office.
