Nusrat Ghani, MP Sussex for Weald, has issued the following response to the local Liberal Democrat, Green and Labour Party Coalition Wealden District Council.
Nusrat Ghani said: "It is not a surprise that the power-sharing coalition leading Wealden District Council are failing local residents by refusing to take a stand against the Home Office and have decided not to support any further legal action over the use of Crowborough Training Camp as asylum accommodation. The Green and Lib Dem Leadership of Wealden District Council has shown no readiness to back our community. They have failed to share details, meet locals and have found every excuse not to take a stand, preferring instead to lecture concerned residents about the “skills” of asylum seekers.
The hard work done by Crowborough Shield has made a difference and deserves better than the insinuation from Cllr Millward's Facebook statement on behalf of Wealden District Council that Crowborough Shield are raising “false hopes”.
Wealden District Council social media videos are littered with contradictions and misinformation, with Cllr Millward admitting that there are errors identified in the planning process, but then states it would not be worth challenging this. Naively she suggests it might mean the camp is open longer, when it is clear that what the Home Office is doing indicates they will be there far longer than 12 months.
As ever, the weak council Leaders demand that the Home Office engage better. Well, that does mean Wealden District Council Leaders should also actually be communicating in person via professional channels and not hiding behind social media.
All Wealden Labour, Liberal and Green Cllrs, and especially the Leaders Cllr Partridge and Cllr Millward, could lead by example on this by getting out into the community and dropping their refusal to engage with local MPs, local residents and local campaign groups. I have also been informed by the Home Office today, that Wealden District Council have been offered £1,200 per asylum seeker. This is a point I raised last October together with my concerns on how the Cllrs will decide to spend that money and the lack of transparency.
I will continue to work on behalf of local residents and support Crowborough Shield."
