The Home Office has promised a “big surge” in asylum hotel closures in the new year, with five more to shut in the coming months, as ministers face mounting pressure over the government’s record on immigration.
Speaking after a weekend of protests and counter-protests over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, Home Office minister Angela Eagle said the government had inherited a “border security system in tatters” and accused opposition parties of offering “the fag packet plans without the substance on delivery”.
Nigel Farage will on Tuesday outline proposals for a sweeping deportation programme, including the mass removal of asylum seekers arriving in small boats, the detention of new arrivals at military bases, and the rapid expansion of flights to Rwanda and other countries willing to take asylum seekers.
The Reform UK leader’s plans also include withdrawing from the European convention on human rights and replacing the Human Rights Act with a British bill of rights prioritising citizens’ rights.
Farage’s intervention comes after a Times poll by YouGov found that 71% of voters believe Keir Starmer is handling the asylum seeker hotel crisis poorly, including a majority of Labour supporters. The findings have intensified pressure on ministers to demonstrate visible progress ahead of a winter in which the use of hotels remains one of the most politically fraught aspects of the small boats crisis.
Eagle, the border security and asylum minister, said Reform’s plans were unworkable and accused the Conservatives of leaving behind a broken system.
“This government inherited chaos in the asylum system and a border security system in tatters,” she told the Guardian. “Since the election we have been rebuilding the foundations of both, saving £1bn in asylum accommodation costs, increasing removals of those with no right to be here, and bringing forward new laws to make it easier to deport sex offenders, which both Reform and the Tories voted against.
“Under the Tories we had years of fantasy solutions, which we were told would stop the boats, but which simply cost a fortune and had no impact. Reform look to be offering more of the same. These are back-of-the-fag packet plans without the substance on delivery.
“Illegal migration is a complex, global problem requiring serious and sustainable policies, including working closely with partners overseas. Only the Labour government is offering that kind of plan.”
A government source told the Guardian “by the end of the year at least five more hotels are expected to be closed, with a big surge in closures in the new year”, describing the move as part of a wider effort to end hotel use entirely.
The number of hotels accommodating asylum seekers has fallen from a peak of 400 in 2023, when costs reached £9m a day to just over 200 now, with a reduced daily cost of £5.5m, insiders say. In the first half of this year alone, the number of asylum seekers living in hotels fell by 6,000 – a 16% reduction.
Protesters clash at asylum hotel demonstrations across the UK – video
Home Office figures show overall asylum costs have dropped by 11%, delivering £1bn in savings last year and a forecast of at least another £1bn to be saved next year. Ministers argue the closures show tangible progress, even as critics continue to highlight delays in processing claims and challenges in securing alternative housing.
Rising public anger over asylum accommodation has been fuelled by high-profile criminal cases and violent incidents. Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay defended protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers after Sadeq Nikzad, a 29-year-old Afghan migrant, was jailed for nine years in June for the rape of a 15-year-old girl in October 2023.
Findlay said: “It’s understandable in those circumstances why communities would question the entire integrity and safety of the immigration system. As long as that’s being done lawfully and respectfully that is an entirely right way to protest.”
The fallout from the Epping asylum hotel ruling has also escalated tensions. The high court recently ordered the removal of asylum seekers from the Bell hotel in Essex after local Conservative-led councils mounted a legal challenge. The decision has emboldened other councils to consider similar action.
Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservatives, is hosting a call on Tuesday, with Tory councillors, planning law experts and senior party strategists to discuss how councils can coordinate further legal challenges. Attenders include Lord Charles Banner KC; the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp; James Cleverly, the shadow housing secretary; Holly Whitbread, a cabinet member at Epping Forest council; and John Cope, chair of the Conservative councillors’ association.
The Guardian understands the session will aim to “help and encourage Conservative councils to take the lead in fighting to close asylum hotels in their constituency” and “give genuine advice based on a serious plan of action”.
A two-day trial begins on Tuesday at Chelmsford crown court of a man charged with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl outside the Bell hotel – a case that has fuelled anger locally and sparked fresh protests across Essex.
Despite highlighting falling costs, declining hotel use and tougher enforcement, Labour remains under political pressure. The government has pointed to new deals with France, Bulgaria, Romania, India, Vietnam and Iraq aimed at disrupting trafficking and speeding removals.
A landmark UK-France treaty has already led to detentions, insiders say, while the “deport now appeal later” scheme has expanded to 23 countries, with 66 charter flights removing hundreds, including serious offenders, in the past year.
