Protests and counter-protests expected at asylum hotels across England

 

From 4h ago

09.01 BST

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2025/aug/22/asylum-hotels-labour-immigration-protests-conservatives-kemi-badenoch-keir-starmer-uk-politics-live?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with%3Ablock-68a8559b8f080a6a4fa58a65#block-68a8559b8f080a6a4fa58a65

 

Protests and counter-protests expected at asylum hotels across England

 

Dozens of protests outside hotels used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers are expected over the weekend across England amid mounting tensions over the issue.

 

Figures released on Thursday showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels, marking a rise of 8% during Labour’s first year in office.

 

Anti-migrant protests and counter-demonstrations held by Stand Up to Racism are expected on Friday outside hotels believed to be used to house asylum seekers, including in Bournemouth, Cardiff and Leeds, with more expected on Saturday.

 

Meanwhile, councils across the country controlled by Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK are investigating whether they could pursue legal challenges against asylum hotels.

 

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said on Thursday that people had “every right” to protest over asylum hotels in their areas. While the number of asylum seekers rose in Labour’s first year, the new data shows they are still far below the 2023 peak, when the Conservatives were in government.

 

Labour has pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament in 2029.

 

The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, insisted Labour had taken “crucial steps” in the past year towards this by cutting the asylum backlog and money spent on the asylum system, increasing returns of asylum seekers whose applications had failed, and overhauling appeals.

 

We will update this blog with any news from the protests and counter-protests. Elsewhere, shadow home office minister Katie Lam has been on the morning media round for Conservatives and Labour mayor Oliver Coppard has been speaking to reporters about Speciality Steel, a steelworks that has been taken over by the government in an attempt to save jobs. More on this in a moment.

 

In other developments:

 

David Lammy has joined 20 other foreign ministers around the world in condemning Israeli plans to build an illegal settlement on the West Bank, with the Foreign Office summoning the Israeli ambassador to communicate the government’s displeasure. The foreign secretary co-signed a joint statement on Thursday criticising the so-called E1 plan, a 3,400-home settlement that critics say would divide the West Bank in half.

 

Protesters at the next mass demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action will withhold their details from officers to force en-masse processing at police stations in an effort to make it “practically impossible” to arrest everyone. On Friday, Defend Our Juries, the pressure group behind the protests, will open sign-ups for its next demonstration to be held in London on 6 September.

 

Elon Musk’s company, Tesla, should have its application to supply energy to UK homes blocked on national security grounds, Ed Davey has told ministers. The Liberal Democrat leader argued that giving the electric car manufacturer a foothold in the British energy market would be “a gravely concerning move considering Elon Musk’s repeated interference in UK politics”.