How the UK became dependent on asylum hotels

Hotels housing asylum seekers have become hotspots of protest. Jory Mundy/Shutterstock

Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s pledge to “end the costly use of asylum hotels in this parliament” is a rare thing in British politics: a policy supported by all major political parties and a range of refugee charities.

Reeves says ending the use of asylum hotels will save the Treasury £1 billion a year. But for a government rapidly losing support, ending “hotel Britain” is also central to their popular appeal to regain control over the asylum system.