Anti-immigration protests persisted across the United Kingdom over the weekend, centered on hotels used to house asylum seekers and unfolding in multiple towns and cities, including Epping, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool, Horley, Aberdeen, and others. Police deployed to keep rival groups apart as counter-demonstrators gathered under Stand Up to Racism banners. The renewed activity followed a week in which immigration again polled as the public’s top concern and hotel use remained a visible flashpoint. In Epping, protesters returned after a High Court ruling ordered asylum seekers removed from a local hotel, while the government said it would appeal.

Flashpoints and policing

In Horley, Surrey, roughly 200 anti-immigration protesters in St. George’s and Union flags clashed with Stand Up to Racism marchers near a hotel housing asylum seekers before police lines separated the groups; officers reported difficulties keeping the crowds apart as chants and insults escalated. In Liverpool, police made 11 arrests for offenses including assault and affray; mounted units intervened in Bristol to keep opposing groups at distance. Demonstrators outside several hotels waved national flags and displayed slogans such as “Stop the boats,” while counter-protesters responded with “refugees are welcome here.” The Horley demonstration followed a local court case in which a hotel resident was convicted of three counts of sexual assault; sentencing is scheduled for October 1.

Courts, councils, and hotel use

A temporary High Court injunction last week barred the Bell Hotel in Epping from accommodating asylum seekers, citing disruption from protests; ministers moved to appeal, and councils of varying party control indicated they were exploring similar legal steps in their districts. The ruling intensified pressure on an accommodation system that continues to rely on commercial sites. Government figures show just over 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels at the end of June, up 8% from a year earlier but well below the 2023 peak. Officials have pledged to phase out hotel use by the end of the parliamentary term, while acknowledging the need for alternative capacity—plans include ending accommodation at certain military sites and expanding beds at a former air base in Essex.

Policy moves and caseload pressures

The government announced plans to reform the asylum appeals process to accelerate decisions and reduce the backlog. Under the proposal, a new body of independent adjudicators would handle appeals, with priority for residents in taxpayer-funded accommodation and for foreign offenders. The Home Office has cited appellate delays as the biggest driver of pressure in the system; recent figures show an appeals backlog of about 51,000 cases and average waits exceeding a year, within a broader caseload of roughly 106,000 appeals. Separately, official data released last week recorded asylum applications at a record 111,000 over the 12 months to June and more than 32,000 people in hotel accommodation; small boat arrivals reached almost 28,000 year-to-date through August 20. Ministers said accelerating adjudication is part of a broader effort to clear the system and phase out hotel use.

Politics, narratives, and what’s next

The persistence of protests has unfolded alongside heightened political rhetoric. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage set out plans for mass deportations of migrants arriving by small boats, proposals that include withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights and building holding sites with capacity for 24,000 people; he also discussed bilateral returns arrangements with countries of origin. Government officials criticized such proposals while underscoring their own priorities: cutting crossings, accelerating decisions, and moving out of hotels. Coverage also documented the symbolic use of national flags—St. George’s Cross and Union Jack—around demonstrations and online campaigns, a trend linked by supporters to patriotism and by critics to far-right activism. Against the political backdrop, police have continued to separate opposing groups and make targeted arrests, while councils test legal avenues to limit hotel use. Near-term markers include the government’s appeal of the Epping ruling; the legislative and operational steps to stand up the new appeals body; changes, if any, in hotel occupancy; and protest activity around other hotel sites as councils weigh local action.

Context and data points

Officials and independent reporting have emphasized that protests follow an extended period of high migration and system strain. Home Office statistics showed a record level of asylum applications and an increase in hotel use compared with a year earlier. At the same time, the number in hotels remains below the 2023 peak as the government has wound down certain large-scale sites, including a barge off the south coast, and moved to end use of specific barracks. In recent communications, ministers have reiterated legal obligations to house asylum seekers and framed the appeals reform as a central tool to clear backlogs. In parallel, law enforcement has managed recurring protests without widespread serious injury, though weekend operations required mounted units in some locations and led to multiple arrests in others.

In Conclusion

Anti-immigration protests continue to converge on hotels used for asylum accommodation, drawing counter-protests and sustained police deployments across the UK. Court action in Epping, councils’ legal maneuvers, and a government plan to overhaul appeals define the institutional response amid record applications and continued reliance on commercial lodging. Political actors on the right have outlined more sweeping measures, while the government seeks incremental changes to processing and accommodation. The trajectory over the coming weeks will turn on the fate of the Epping appeal, the pace of appeals reform, and the degree to which hotel occupancy and public order pressures ease—or intensify—as these steps roll out.