Asylum votes show people want help, says Kemi Badenoch

'Right to be concerned' Security guards have been patrolling the town and city centres of Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester since 14 September Badenoch also said she understood why the Reform-run Essex County Council had put security officers on the streets of Braintree, Colchester and Chelmsford to reassure people worried about asylum seekers from the nearby camp at MDP Wethersfield.

Meanwhile, Reform UK members on Suffolk County Council have called for a public referendum on whether they should be housed at the RAF base.

There have been several protests outside RAF Barnham since the government said it was considering sending asylum seekers to the base "[Referendums] are [people's] way of showing how they feel and I support them in that," said Badenoch, speaking to the BBC ahead of her party conference.