'We'll stop it!' Reform UK sets out grassroots plan to shut £5bn asylum hotels as Labour loses grip on migrant crisis
Reform UK councillors will campaign to stop Britain using migrant hotels if elected in the upcoming Local Elections, Lee Anderson has confirmed to GB News. Labour, who claimed to have a "serious plan" to end "wasteful spending" on migrant hotels in its 2024 manifesto, has overseen the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels soar by 8,494, taking the overall number back up to 38,079.Reform UK MP Lee Anderson at a rallyGETTY"This is a failure of successive Conservative and Labour Governments who have wasted millions on providing five-star accommodation to those who have often entered the UK illegally."Reform's plan is simple: detain and deport to put an end to the use of hotels to house migrants."Only Reform councillors elected on May 1 will campaign to put a stop to this abuse of the British taxpayer and the risk these hotels pose to local residents."Following a number of defections and around a dozen by-election successes, Reform UK currently has 123 councillors across England, Wales and Scotland.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:Migrants leaving for the UK from FranceGETTYHowever, recent research by Electoral Calculus suggests the populist party could soon receive a 474-strong boost, giving Reform control of Derbyshire, Doncaster, Durham and Kent on May 1.Rather than cutting back on taxpayer-funded asylum accommodation, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has continued to open sites, including in seats which voted Labour for the first time in the last general election.Altrincham, which returned its first ever Labour MP in the 2024 General Election, was forced to house around 300 migrants at its Best Western Cresta Court Hotel in October.Peterborough's three-star Dragonfly Hotel was also used to house around 150 asylum seekers just 133 days after locals returned a Labour MP. Border Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle revealed there had been a net increase of six hotels under Labour but cautioned nine were scheduled to close by the end of March.However, a Treasury document last week admitted that hotels and other temporary accommodation will be used to house migrants for years to come. A general view of the Cresta Court Hotel which is currently housing migrantsGETTYTotal spending on asylum accommodation and support topped £5.38billion last year, up by £1.43billion in 2023/24.Research conducted by the Institute for Public Policy Research also revealed that British taxpayers spend £41,000 on each asylum seeker, a marked increase compared to the £17,000 spent in 2020. Some hotels are now even threatening to evict migrants after failing to receive contracted payments from an accommodation company ditched by the Home Office.Footage has also shown asylum seekers boast about life in Britain's migrant hotels, with one bragging about helping fellow Albanians illegally settle in the UK.Lee Anderson speaks at Reform rallyPAStarmer's tough talk on ending the Channel crossing crisis is also facing a backlash after the number of migrants who completed the perilous 21-mile journey topped 30,000 under Labour's watch.The migrant milestone meant Starmer's small boats record was worse than any other Prime Minister's since the crisis first rocked Britain in 2018.The figure equates to just over 780 per week, compared to 570 for Rishi Sunak and just 400 for Boris Johnson.GB News has approached the Home Office for comment.
