Refugee sanctuary plan is 'grandstanding', says MP

An MP has described a council's plan to create a county of sanctuary for refugees as a "grandstanding gesture".

Lewis Cocking, the Conservative member for Broxbourne, accused the Liberal Democrat-led Hertfordshire County Council of putting forward an "out-of-touch, ideological initiative".

Signing up to the scheme would make the council part of a network of organisations offering a supportive culture for refugees and asylum seekers.

The leader of the authority said no decision has been made yet but he could not see why the county would not want to welcome refugees.

In a heated letter to the leader of the council, Cocking said: "At my local surgeries, I regularly speak to constituents who are struggling with housing, can't get their kids into their local school or get GP appointments, and are paying massive sums for basic dental treatment.

"It is frankly disgraceful that illegal asylum seekers are given preferential treatment to access all of these services."

He added that the council should not be spending time and resources on "out-of-touch, ideological initiatives like the county of sanctuary status".

He said anyone who entered the country illegally should be deported immediately.

The Liberal Democrat leader of the council, Steve Jarvis, said it was Cocking who was "grandstanding about a decision that has not been made".

He added: "I cannot see why Hertfordshire would not want to be a welcoming and inclusive places for people seeking sanctuary."

Peter Colley, a Restore Britain councillor, argued that the council "do not have the right to inflict this on the constituents of Hertfordshire without a county-wide referendum".

A petition calling for a public vote has so far reached 1,736 signatures, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Colley also asked if anyone had "worked out how much it is going to cost the constituents of Hertfordshire".

Ajanta Hilton, who chairs the authority's community safety committee, responded: "It's not a question of money - a referendum would cost money as well.

"We're here to support the most vulnerable where it's needed."

No date has been set for a decision to be made on the sanctuary plan.

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