In recent months, far-right activists and racists across England have sought to fan the flames of division by aggressively targeting asylum seekers housed in hotels. Yet, in doing so, they are not only exposing the flaws in their own narrative but are also actively hastening the very changes they claim to oppose.
The Home Office has announced plans to remove hundreds of asylum seekers from nine hotels across England, including prominent establishments such as the Manor Hotel in Datchet, near Windsor Castle, and others in the West Midlands and Cheshire. These closures follow sustained campaigns of intimidation and protest by far-right groups, who falsely claim that asylum seekers are to blame for rising community tensions.
Ironically, their actions have inadvertently strengthened the government’s argument for ending the use of asylum hotels, a move that is broadly supported across the political spectrum, not least for its potential to reduce public spending and relocate vulnerable people into more suitable, long-term accommodation.
Far-right groups have long portrayed asylum seekers as burdens on local communities, exploiting fears and spreading misinformation. Demonstrations, such as those outside the Coventry Hill Hotel, where Britain First activists protested aggressively, only served to bring public attention to the inadequacies of the current asylum system. Instead of forcing the issue underground, these confrontations have amplified calls for systemic reform. The government’s decision to close these hotels is in part a response to the very chaos far-right agitators have helped to highlight.
Moreover, many of the claims pushed by these activists crumble under scrutiny. For instance, residents in Datchet have been quoted describing their village as a “hellhole” due to the presence of asylum seekers. However, voices from within the community, such as Mo Tariq, a local café owner, paint a very different picture. He defended the hotel residents, noting their politeness and desperate circumstances, and explained how their enforced idleness, i.e., being barred from working, contributes to negative perceptions.
“If you speak to these men, they’re all very polite. They all come from difficult situations. They are not criminals; they are not nasty people,” Tariq told reporters. His words expose the humanity so often obscured by fearmongering.
There is also a cruel irony in the behaviour of some far-right groups. Their aggressive actions, such as storming the Daresbury Park Hotel and filming frightened asylum seekers from Sudan and Iraq, do more to display their own cruelty than to discredit the displaced people they target. By acting with such hostility, they lay bare their lack of constructive solutions and undermine their claims of concern for British communities.
The broader public, too, is increasingly weary of the financial burden of housing asylum seekers in hotels, a situation exacerbated by the previous government’s failings in processing claims. Labour and the Conservatives alike have pledged to tackle this issue. Sir Keir Starmer, for instance, campaigned to “end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds.” Now, with a more concerted effort to process claims and move asylum seekers into cheaper, more appropriate accommodation, the government argues it is “getting to grips with the chaos”.
What the far right fail to understand is that their belligerence is not only morally indefensible but also strategically counterproductive. Their actions accelerate efforts to resolve the asylum backlog and empty the hotels they decry. Rather than preventing change, they are inadvertently making the case for it.
Furthermore, their narrative is undermined by facts. According to the Home Office, many of the removals are possible precisely because more claims are being processed and those with no right to stay are being deported. Meanwhile, asylum seekers granted permission to remain will move into homes, not hotels; a solution far more palatable to most communities.
Nearly 7,000 asylum seekers have crossed the Channel so far this year, with over 36,000 detected in 2024 overall. The scale of the challenge is undeniable. However, scapegoating vulnerable individuals does nothing to address the root causes of displacement or the logistical shortcomings of the asylum system.
In their relentless pursuit of division, racists and the far right are unwittingly forcing both government and the public to confront the realities of the asylum system head-on. By drawing attention to the high costs and inadequacies of temporary hotel accommodation, they are propelling efforts to overhaul the system; achieving precisely the opposite of their intended goal.
Their campaign of hatred is not only a moral failure; it is a tactical blunder. In the end, they are defeating their own cause.
