Asylum hotel protests kick-off across England

Throughout July nationwide locals have gathered to fight against hotels being used for asylum seekers.  

Within the last month thousands of people across England have staged protests outside of hotels that are being used to temporarily house migrants. The demonstrations called for the hotels to be closed down.

To give context, on Sunday (July 27^th) around 500 anti-immigrant protestors gathered outside of the Bell hotel in Epping for the fifth time. The first protest was held on 13^th July after an asylum seeker was charged with sexual assault for allegedly attempting to kiss a 14-year-old girl.

Meanwhile, on Saturday (July 26^th) protests also took place outside of the Britannia Hotel in Seacroft, Leeds. The hotel is said to be funded by taxpayers and was surrounded by police who instructed residents to stay inside.

The demonstration in Leeds has been posted all over social media, where city locals have expressed their opinions over the decision to house migrants in hotels. One comment on Facebook read: ‘Temporary housing until Leeds City Council find them all housing all over Leeds. All the while telling Leeds people on the waiting list that there is nothing available.’

In similar vein, another comment read: ‘We have had enough, this will keep happening until the government start to listen, we are 2^nd class citizens in our own country, so no surprise people are getting agitated. I know I am.’

Against this backdrop, the Home Office has said it is working with hotels to ‘restore order’. Authorities have introduced reforms to the ‘failure to travel’ policy which state that migrants who are offered accommodation outside of hotels must take it. Should they refuse, asylum seekers will lose support and the opportunity to move into a more stable home. This means they could be facing homelessness.

News of the policy comes after the government published new research last week (July 25^th) which shows hundreds of migrants are refusing to be transferred from hotels to other forms of housing every week.

Angela Eagle, minister for border security and asylum, said: ‘We inherited an asylum system on the brink of collapse – mismanaged, under strain, and costing the public a fortune. We are getting a grip.

‘We are working to close hotels, restore order and put fairness and value for money at the heart of our asylum system. This government is making those necessary decisions to protect the taxpayer and uphold the integrity of our borders.’

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo via UnSplash 

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