The head of the Local Government Association has blasted the idea of bringing thousands of more refugees into the United Kingdom, echoing UKIP leader Nigel Farage’s long-standing calls to bear in mind that the National Health Service, education system, and housing system is already at breaking point in the UK.
David Simmonds, a Conservative councillor in Hillingdon, said: “We need to think of the impact on local communities when we know there are already quite lengthy waiting lists for housing in some parts of the country, and pressure on school places and GP appointments, and things like that,” said Simmonds. “The law is very clear. Once people are in the UK, local authorities have an obligation to provide them with those sort of services.
“If the government wants a new approach, where a temporary safe haven is offered but people are clearly not going to be able to stay in the UK beyond the point at which it is safe for them to return to their country, then they need to set out and implement that in policy and law from the start.”
He also blasted Bob Geldof’s plans to take migrants into the UK, according to the Guardian.
“If Bob Geldof is willing to make that offer, I’m sure his local council, which will already have a lot of people on its housing waiting list, will be very happy to bring them around this afternoon.”
Mr Farage is known for having spoken about the current problems in capacity within Britain’s National Health Service, schools, trains, roads, and housing systems.
He was roundly mocked for joking about migrants on the M4 last year before the election, and has been heavily criticised for his party’s tough stance of international aid.
This week it was announced that the British government would be cutting £100m from the Cancer drugs fund for British citizens. In a supposedly unrelated announcement, David Cameron announced that he would be sending £100 extra in aid to Syria.