Dear Mr Selous
I am writing this letter with regards to a contract the Home Office has undertaken to house Asylum Seekers, for the next year, in The Old Palace Lodge, Dunstable. In the weeks following the announcement, we, the Dunstable and Houghton Regis Labour Party, have seen an increase in members of the public vocalising abuse and hostility towards Asylum Seekers. We are concerned about the safety of new residents coming to the town, especially in light of the recent violent demonstration in Merseyside.
Due to the short notice with which this contract has been executed, and the publicising of Old Palace Lodge customer experiences, this subject has become regional news. Just today, the area has had a targeted leaflet drop by a political group that Hope Not Hate called the “UK’s Largest Fascist Organisation”. Many have taken to social media in response with disturbing reactions. It is clear to us that this issue has drawn particular attention from people with extremist views towards immigrants. Because of the lack of information from reliable sources, false information is being spread. Speculation is rife and the vacuum created through the failure to properly prepare for this situation has been filled with loud speculation, normally derogatory, almost always xenophobic and undoubtedly poisonous. These views are being repeated time and time again and spreading.
Many of our residents are channelling their frustrations with the NHS into this discussion. As you know the BLMK ICB have taken the decision not to fund health hubs in Leighton Buzzard or Biggleswade, and people are struggling to get NHS appointments. Since the pandemic the NHS waiting times for appointments have increased and people are upset. The current average waiting time for your first outpatient appointment at the Bedfordshire NHS trust is 18 weeks, around four months, for conditions that are likely to impact employment and family life. They cannot get NHS appointments; they cannot get doctors’ appointments and they are turning on ‘others’, including residents who haven’t even arrived. The health service in the area is clearly seen as an issue as the general consensus is it will be unable to accommodate the approximately 250 refugees. The cost of everything has skyrocketed. Paying for heating, fuel and food has become a juggling act for many and some of our residents are funnelling their fears and anger at the current situation at the Old Palace Lodge.
We appreciate that you are going to have a meeting on the 16th of February but unfortunately that is not likely to be enough. We feel it is too little, too late. The reality is that, now, you have a large group of very disgruntled residents focusing solely on the Old Palace Lodge. We call on you now to assist community engagement to help welcome these new visitors to the town. Regardless of however long they are going to be residents in the town, we need to be able to welcome them. Your community meeting was needed on the 16th of December, not 16th of February. By failing to adequately deal with the issue in an appropriate time frame you have allowed this fire to start in our community and then provided oxygen it needs to burn. The danger is that if someone gets burned, it isn’t likely to be you. It’s far more likely to be one of our incoming residents. I would like to quote to you the words of the chief constable of Merseyside Police who in a recent article said
“Social media speculation, misinformation and rumour can actually damage the outcome of an investigation and cause unnecessary fear and sequent behaviour, so I would continue to ask people to be mindful of the damage that such actions can cause.”
Which is all very well and good, but the public needs tools to do battle with those who want community discord and an environment hostile to immigrants.
We need you to have real answers for these people on the 16th with regards to what you plan to do to help the town. We need you to address their real problems with the NHS and cost of living. We need you to avoid marginalising these new guests at all costs. We need you to bridge the gap created between our new residents and our current ones and we needed you to have done it a month ago.
Kind regards,
Matthew Brennan
Chairman of Dunstable and Houghton Regis Labour Party, Dunstable Town Councillor Northfields Ward.