Protesters across the United Kingdom gathered in various cities and towns to demand that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government cease housing asylum seekers in hotels. The demonstrations on Saturday clashed with counterprotests by anti-racism activists, resulting in confrontations and the need for police mediation to prevent incidents between the groups.
According to UK media, protests against the accommodation of asylum seekers in hotels took place in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with cities such as Bristol, Liverpool, London, Mold, Perth, and County Antrim seeing participation.
In Bristol, riot police and mounted units were deployed to separate dozens of anti-migrant protesters from hundreds of anti-racism demonstrators, as reported by the BBC and Sky News.
Liverpool witnessed dual rallies, with Merseyside Police making eleven arrests for offenses such as being drunk and disorderly, as well as assault and affray, according to The Guardian.
These nationwide protests follow a recent high court ruling that temporarily blocked a hotel in Epping, Essex, from housing asylum seekers after violent protests and an incident involving a sexually assault charge.
The Labour, Conservative, and Reform UK-run councils are now considering legal challenges to the decision. However, Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis stated that the government would appeal the high court’s ruling, with the commitment to close all asylum hotels by the end of the current parliament in 2029, but in a controlled manner.
Starmer’s Labour government faces criticism for its immigration policies as figures show record arrivals of migrants and asylum seekers and a considerable increase in hotel accommodation for asylum seekers compared to the previous year.
According to UNHCR, asylum seekers in the UK are not typically allowed to work and are thus reliant on government or family support. Opinion polls indicate rising support for Nigel Farage’s far-right Reform UK party, which advocates for mass deportations and would pull the UK out of international conventions on refugees and torture.
Oxford’s Migration Observatory reveals that the majority of those crossing the English Channel originate from six countries: Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania, Syria, and Eritrea. Despite the recent surge in arrivals, the UK still hosts fewer asylum seekers than countries like Iran, Turkiye, and Colombia.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/24/scuffles-arrests-as-protesters-across-uk-rally-against-asylum-hotels?traffic_source=rss
