Labour refuses to rule out housing asylum seekers on barges
Yvette Cooper suggests vessels could be kept while Labour tries to clear asylum backlog
![Labourās shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper](https://static.the-independent.com/2022/12/09/11/newFile-4.jpg)
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Your support makes all the difference.Giant barges and disused military bases could be used by a Labour government to house asylum seekers, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has indicated.
The Labour frontbencher refused to rule out use of controversial offshore accommodation ā criticised by refugee groups and campaigners as akin to āprison shipsā.
Ms Cooperās comments came as the Bibby Stockholm barge heads to Portland Port in Dorset where it will house around 500 asylum seekers arriving from across the Channel on small boats.
Pressed by reporters after a speech in central London if she would immediately end the use of barges and military bases for migrants, Ms Cooper said: āWe will take action to clear the [asylum] backlog.ā
She said: āWeāll have to address what we inherit at that time, because at the moment it is so chaotic what the government is doing.ā
Ms Cooper added: āWhat we want to see is the backlog cleared so that the government doesnāt need to use the hotels or other alternatives and we can simply focus on the long-standing asylum accommodation that has always been there.ā
Londonās Labour mayor Sadiq Khan has previously attacked the plan to use barges as ācruel and inhumaneā ā warning that dock facilities could targeted by far-right protesters.
Ms Cooper emphasised that a Labour government to ārapidly clearā the decisions backlog that has spiralled under the government before reverting to traditional asylum accommodation.
She made it clear she thinks the governmentās āfailureā to deal with the asylum system may be further āincreasing the backlogā, which hit a record high of more than 172,000 cases.
![Bibby Stockholm barge set to be docked in Portland, Dorset](https://static.the-independent.com/2023/07/03/15/SEI160624831.jpg)
Bibby Stockholm was a month behind schedule as it left Falmouth, Cornwall on Monday. It had been undergoing work to house migrants in Portland Dorset, despite local opposition.
Dorset Council has been given a Ā£2m funding package to meet the cost of providing services for the Bibby Stockholm residents.
But No 10 insisted the plan would prove value for money, with Rishi Sunakās official spokesman saying the barges and bases would āsave the taxpayer money compared to spending on hotelsā.
![Bibby Stockholm barge will house 500 migrants](https://static.the-independent.com/2023/05/09/19/SEI155212950.jpg)
The use of RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and the Wethersfield base in Essex to house asylum seekers also face legal action, as well as opposition by some Tory MPs. Dozens of asylum seekers have already been moved into Wethersfield.
Later on Monday, Mr Sunak and home secretary Suella Braverman will come under further pressure to change their plans to meet their āstop the boatsā vow.
MPs will be considering amendments to the Illegal Migration Bill proposed by the Lords to limit the detention of children and add modern slavery protections.
Peers have inflicted a string of defeats on the much-criticised legislation during a āping-pongā tussle over the bill until agreement is reached.
It came as comedian Dom Joly, dressed as Mickey Mouse and holding a placard saying āstop child detentionā, led a Save the Children protest against the Bill outside the Home Office in central London.
The protest followed ministers facing criticism over a decision to paint over murals of Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse and Baloo from The Jungle Book, at a migrant reception centre in Kent.
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