By Suella Braverman

You may not have heard of Waterlooville.

A small Hampshire town just north of Portsmouth, its name commemorates a moment of national triumph - when weary British soldiers, fresh from the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, stopped to celebrate on their long march home. The local pub, The Heroes, still bears their legacy. But in recent weeks, Waterlooville witnessed a very different kind of campaign- one not waged with muskets and sabres, but with placards, petitions and Union Jacks.

It was not a foreign army this time, but a creeping political consensus that locals rose to oppose. The Labour–Liberal Democrat-run Havant Borough Council, in coordination with the Home Office, had quietly planned to house asylum seekers- many here illegally- in the heart of this quiet English town. But it didn’t stay quiet for long.

Conservative councillors uncovered the plan, and outrage followed. Over 10,000 local residents signed a petition opposing it. More remarkably, nearly a thousand people turned out to protest in Waterlooville Shopping Centre- a peaceful demonstration, with families, veterans, and young children standing together in defence of their home. A few days later, the Home Office quietly reversed course. The plans were shelved.

This was........

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