14 h. ago Starmer’s reshuffle continues after minister says asylum seekers could be moved to barracks: UK politics live

A government source said “nothing is off the table” for the new home secretary Shabana Mahmood

Politics

20 h. ago Military sites could be used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers, minister says – UK politics live

Starmer to ‘go up a gear’ as ministers consider changes to human rights laws in bid to head off Reform UKThe most significant moves in Starmer ’s reshuffle d cabinetConservative party chair Kevin Hollinrake has accused Reform UK of copying the former government’s migration policies.Speaking on Sky News this morning, Hollinrake said:All Reform are doing now – a few weeks ago they were talking about towing the boats back to France and they realised they couldn’t do that.And all their plans now are a copycat – exactly the plans that we had in the last government. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago Ministers considering human rights reform in bid to head off Reform as defence secretary say Starmer going ‘up a gear’ – UK politics live

New home secretary Shabana Mahmood expected to to say asylum seekers will be moved from hotels to barracksJohn Healey also said Shabana Mahmood will be “just as tough as Cooper” on Palestine Action, the campaign group opposing Israel’s assault on Gaza that the government controversially proscribed under the Terrorism Act in July, making membership of or support of the group a criminal offence.More than 425 people were arrested in London yesterday at the largest demonstration yet opposing the proscription of Palestine Action.I think you’ll start to see Keir Starmer insist that dealing with the small boats, solving the immigration illegal immigration crisis, is part of the jobs the whole of government, not just the Home Office.So with the Home Office, I have been putting military planners into their Border Command and into their planning for the future, and we are looking at the potential use of military and non military use sites for temporary accommodation for the people who come ac...

Politics

3 d. ago Starmer declines to say if he will sack Rayner if she is found to have broken ministerial code – UK politics live

Keir Starmer has said that he expects to get the report from his ethics adviser on Angela Rayner quickly Reeves has ‘full confidence’ in Rayner after stamp duty errorKitty Donaldson from the i says Keir Starmer may get the report from his ethics adviser about Angela Rayner tomorrow.NEW: Senior Government sources are playing down reports ministerial watchdog Sir Laurie Magnus could send Sir Keir Starmer his report into Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s tax affairs as soon as today. One Whitehall source said tomorrow is more likely. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Starmer refuses to say he’ll sack Rayner if she is found to have broken ministerial code: UK politics live

Angela Rayner said she was given inaccurate legal advice that led her to underpay tax when buying a flat in Hove in May

Politics

6 d. ago Blame migrants, or blame the rich? That’s the populist divide in Britain’s politics now | Gaby Hinsliff

Taxing the ultra-rich may be a vote winner, but it’s just as important to shift the conversation away from Reform’s immigration doom loopThe long, hot summer of discontent is finally over. Parliament returned this week if not exactly with a rush of back to school energy, then at least with the sense that the government is now back to fill what was becoming an increasingly dangerous August vacuum.When exhausted ministers retreated to lick their wounds over the summer, Nigel Farage saw his chance and took it, filling the slow news days with encouragement of protesters over asylum seeker accommodation. He was rewarded by polling showing voters now see immigration – the terrain on which Reform UK is palpably desperate to fight an election, because it’s terrain on which Labour can never go far enough to please some supporters without horrifying half the rest – and not a broken economy as Britain’s biggest problem, an impression arguably only reinforced when the government’s first announc...

Politics

6 d. ago Now council launches legal action to shut THREE migrant hotels: After saga over Bell hotel in Epping, Reform

West Northamptonshire Council said that by accommodating asylum seekers, the three sites may have breached planning rules.

Events

8 d. ago Migrant hotels fightback grows: Now 19 councils vow to take legal action to kick asylum seekers out of accommodation as furious protests spread across country

On Saturday, the number of councils promising to fight back against the Court of Appeal's decision surrounding The Bell Hotel in Epping continued to grow.

Events

8 d. ago Ordinary people outside hotels raging at ordinary people inside them: that’s the tragedy of this refugee controversy | Rowan Williams

Anyone who has met refugees sees the ordinariness of their hopes and dreams. If we reject their humanity, how can we be proud of ourselves?No one in their right mind thinks accommodating asylum seekers in hotels is a good idea. No one in their right mind thinks we should just live with undocumented, life-threatening migration routes into the UK. And no one in their right mind thinks the experiences endured by most migrants could be a rational choice for anyone. Forget for a moment the ludicrous, inflammatory posturing of many who should know better; we ought to be able to begin from these shared acknowledgments.Using hotels for housing vulnerable migrants is the equivalent of what prison reform campaigners have long called warehousing – make sure a problematic group is simply corralled somewhere more or less secure, and hope their issues will somehow sort themselves out. The chaos and under-resourcing of the legal processes involved and the shocking levels of delay mean that the con...

Politics

1 week ago Home Office planning to halve time asylum seekers given to find accommodation

Charities sound alarm over plan to give asylum seekers just 28 days to find new housing once they have a decision on their caseUK politics live – latest updatesRefugee charities warn that thousands of people in the UK could find themselves homeless on the streets this winter after the Home Office quietly reversed its asylum accommodation policy.The Guardian has learned that ministers are planning to halve the period asylum seekers are given to find new accommodation after getting a decision on their case, from 56 to 28 days. Refugee organisations say this is not enough time to find work and a home to rent and will lead to many people pitching tents in the streets. Continue reading...

Society

1 week ago Charities raise alarm after Home Office reverses part of asylum accommodation policy

The Guardian has learned ministers are planning to halve the time asylum seekers are given to find new accommodation after getting a decision on their caseUK politics live – latest updatesRefugee charities warn that thousands of people in the UK could find themselves homeless on the streets this winter after the Home Office quietly reversed its asylum accommodation policy.The Guardian has learned that ministers are planning to halve the period asylum seekers are given to find new accommodation after getting a decision on their case, from 56 to 28 days. Refugee organisations say this is not enough time to find work and a home to rent and will lead to many people pitching tents in the streets. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Asylum seeker who 'is linked to the Houthis and posts images of weapons online from migrant housing' is being probed by police

A member of the public uncovered multiple images of daggers and guns on a Snapchat story linked to the asylum seeker accommodation centre in Essex.

Events

2 w. ago Protests expected at asylum hotels across England as tensions mount

Anti-migrant demonstrations expected on Friday and Saturday, while councils investigate legal challenges against hotelsDozens of protests outside hotels used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers are expected over the weekend across England amid mounting tensions over the issue.Figures released on Thursday showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels, marking a rise of 8% during Labour’s first year in office. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Protests expected at asylum hotels across UK as tensions mount

Anti-migrant demonstrations expected on Friday and Saturday, while councils investigate legal challenges against hotelsDozens of protests outside hotels used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers are expected over the weekend across Britain amid mounting tensions over the issue.Figures released on Thursday showed there were more than 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels, marking a rise of 8% during Labour’s first year in office. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Epping asylum hotel numbers rose from 28 to 199 in three months

The Government has a legal obligation to provide accommodation, which can include hotels, to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

Events

2 w. ago Badenoch urges Tory councils to challenge asylum hotels in court

Epping secured a temporary injunction blocking the use of the Essex town’s Bell Hotel as accommodation for asylum seekers on planning grounds.

Events

2 w. ago More councils in England plan to challenge asylum hotels after Essex ruling

Broxbourne council leader hopes to ‘go down same path’ as Epping, which has blocked people being housed in hotelCouncils across England are weighing up their own legal challenges after a high court ruling blocked people seeking asylum from being housed in an Essex hotel.The Conservative-run Broxbourne council in Hertfordshire said it was taking legal advice “as a matter of urgency” on whether it could follow the example of neighbouring Epping Forest district council, which applied successfully for an injunction to stop asylum seekers being accommodated at the Bell hotel in the town. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago The simple loophole that could close the migrant hotel near you: Now MORE councils consider legal action to stop asylum seeker accommodation

Yesterday, council leaders won the first step in their bid to have The Bell Hotel closed, after Mr Justice Eyre ruled the establishment must stop housing asylum seekers by September 12.

Events

2 w. ago Government ‘does not have a plan’ to accommodate asylum seekers – council leader

Chris Whitbread was speaking after Epping Forest council was granted an injunction blocking asylum seekers from being housed at a local hotel.

Politics

3 w. ago Anyone showing support for Palestine Action ‘will feel full force of the law’, justice minister says – UK politics live

Government defends decision to proscribe protest group after mass arrests at a demonstration in Westminster over the weekendIn other news, a hostile environment era deportation policy is being expanded by Labour as the government continues to try to limit the threat from Reform by talking and acting toughly on migration.Foreign criminals from 15 more countries, including India, Bulgaria and Australia, face deportation before they have a chance to appeal against the decision to remove them, in a widening of the government’s “deport first, appeal later” scheme.Richard Dannatt wrote privately to two separate Home Office ministers asking them to address the “threat” posed by the group after its activists targeted a factory in 2022.The activists caused extensive damage to the factory which is run by Teledyne, a US multinational that sells technology for military, aerospace and other applications. Lord Dannatt has been a paid adviser to the company since 2022. Continue reading...

Politics