admin November 21, 2023

Dozens of protests planned outside asylum hotels as Labour defends record on immigration – UK politics live | UK news

Politics
August 22, 2025
No Comment
50

Protests and counter-protests expected at asylum hotels across England

Dozens 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.

Anti-migrant protests and counter-demonstrations held by Stand Up to Racism are expected on Friday outside hotels believed to be used to house asylum seekers, including in Bournemouth, Cardiff and Leeds, with more expected on Saturday.

Meanwhile, councils across the country controlled by Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK are investigating whether they could pursue legal challenges against asylum hotels.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said on Thursday that people had “every right” to protest over asylum hotels in their areas. While the number of asylum seekers rose in Labour’s first year, the new data shows they are still far below the 2023 peak, when the Conservatives were in government.

Labour has pledged to end the use of hotels to house asylum seekers by the end of this parliament in 2029.

The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, insisted Labour had taken “crucial steps” in the past year towards this by cutting the asylum backlog and money spent on the asylum system, increasing returns of asylum seekers whose applications had failed, and overhauling appeals.

We will update this blog with any news from the protests and counter-protests. Elsewhere, shadow home office minister Katie Lam has been on the morning media round for Conservatives and Labour mayor Oliver Coppard has been speaking to reporters about Speciality Steel, a steelworks that has been taken over by the government in an attempt to save jobs. More on this in a moment.

In other developments:

David Lammy has joined 20 other foreign ministers around the world in condemning Israeli plans to build an illegal settlement on the West Bank, with the Foreign Office summoning the Israeli ambassador to communicate the government’s displeasure. The foreign secretary co-signed a joint statement on Thursday criticising the so-called E1 plan, a 3,400-home settlement that critics say would divide the West Bank in half.
Protesters at the next mass demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action will withhold their details from officers to force en-masse processing at police stations in an effort to make it “practically impossible” to arrest everyone. On Friday, Defend Our Juries, the pressure group behind the protests, will open sign-ups for its next demonstration to be held in London on 6 September.
Elon Musk’s company, Tesla, should have its application to supply energy to UK homes blocked on national security grounds, Ed Davey has told ministers. The Liberal Democrat leader argued that giving the electric car manufacturer a foothold in the British energy market would be “a gravely concerning move considering Elon Musk’s repeated interference in UK politics”.

Key events

Commenting on the government taking control of the UK’s third-largest steelworks, the general secretary of Community union said the “government’s intervention must mark a turning point to deliver certainty” for the businesses.

Roy Rickhuss said in a statement that “jobs must be protected” and wages should be paid as well as outstanding pensions contributions being secured. He added:

We welcome the government’s intervention which is yet another demonstration of our Labour government’s commitment to delivering for steelworkers and our vital foundation industry.

However, in taking control of the business the government has assumed responsibility for our livelihoods and our communities, and we will of course be holding them to account.

In an interview on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday, MSP Jeremy Balfour who has resigned from the Scottish Conservatives (see 9.13am BST), said he feels the party has “lost its way in Scotland” and “I don’t think it represents true Conservative values”.

According to the PA news agency, when asked if Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay is the right person for the job and whether he should stay in the post, he said:

Clearly I’m no longer a member of the party so that’s no longer a decision for me to make.

I get on very well as an individual with Russell, I think he’s a good individual. Whether he’s the person to lead the Scottish Conservatives is obviously for MSPs, for the membership, to decide.

But he is an individual I like, I just think he’s just not quite yet grasped what the issues are and is willing to put forward a vision which is truly Conservative.

Balfour said he has not yet decided whether he will stand at the next election and will think about it over the next few weeks. He said:

What I’m very clear about is that those with disabilities, other minorities and the people of Lothian need a voice for people to hear what we require within our country.

I’m not sure any party is actually offering that at the moment but whether I stand or not I’ll come to a view in the next few weeks.

Balfour said he has not thought about joining any other party and described himself as a “natural Conservative”, but added:

It’s the party that’s moved, not me.

A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said:

We are disappointed to read these comments but grateful for Jeremy’s service and wish him well.

The Scottish Conservatives, under Russell Findlay’s leadership, recognise that many people feel completely disconnected from politics. It is absolutely critical that our party continues to champion commonsense Conservative values and policies that focus on the issues of concern to hard-working Scots.

All our members and supporters expect us to work hard to deliver the change that Scotland needs after 18 years of damaging and divisive SNP rule.

Conservatives lose overall control of Surrey county council after byelections

The Conservatives have lost overall control of Surrey county council after losing out to Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats in two separate byelection results. The Lib Dems gained the Hinchley Wood, Claygate, and Oxshott seat from the Tories, while Reform took the Addlestone seat in yesterday’s byelections.

🌳 | The 2 Conservative losses in Surrey tonight see them LOSE control of Surrey County Council.

Elections were postponed in Surrey in 2025 due to local government reorganisation – electors will now vote in 2026 to the new shadow authority. pic.twitter.com/UBnRFVOFZx

— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) August 22, 2025

Responding to the news that the Conservatives have lost overall control of Surrey county council for the first time since the 1990s, a Lib Dem source said:

Kemi Badenoch has presided over a Surrey shambles. The Conservatives are sliding to defeat – it’s no wonder they ran scared and delayed the elections until next year.

If the Conservatives cannot keep control of Surrey, nowhere is safe for them. Voters in Surrey are backing the Liberal Democrats’ community politics over the Conservatives, just as they did in the general election.

The results of the byelections are:

Hinchley Wood, Claygate and Oxshott byelection results – Thursday, 21 August 2025

Andy Burton (Liberal Democrats): 38%
Andrew Burley (Local Conservatives): 31%
Mary Susan Marshall (Independent): 15%
Nicholas David Wood (Reform UK): 13%
Sarah Coomes (the Green party): 2%
Irene Threlkeld (Labour): 1%

Addlestone byelection results– Thursday, 21 August 2025

Scott Michael Kelly (Reform UK): 34%
Shannon Saise-Marshall (Conservative): 24%
Mike Smith (Liberal Democrats): 17%
Steven Lee Ringham (the Green party): 16%
Arran Richard Neathey (Labour and Co-operative): 8%

Diane Abbott says she advised Jeremy Corbyn not to start new political party

Aletha Adu

Diane Abbott has said she advised her longtime friend Jeremy Corbyn not to launch a new political party because she believed it would struggle to make inroads under the first-past-the-post system.

Abbott, the MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, said last month she would not be leaving Labour in favour of Corbyn’s as yet unnamed party, despite the pair having worked closely together in the past.

Speaking at the Edinburgh international book festival in conversation with the campaigner and commentator Talat Yaqoob, Abbott confirmed she had spoken to Corbyn before the party’s launch to warn him against it. She said:

There were people around Jeremy encouraging him to set up a new party and I told him not to.

It’s very difficult under the first-past-the-post system for a new party to absolutely win. If it wasn’t first past the post then you can see how a new party could come through, but I understand why he did it.

Abbott described Zarah Sultana, the independent MP launching the new party with Corbyn, as a “lovely person who is full of energy”. She said the party could get votes and support from people who were “not necessarily leftwing” but were “disappointed about the way [Labour has] gone in the past year”.

Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn at a Labour event in 2017. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/EMPICS Entertainment

Abbott, who as the longest-serving female MP has the honorary title of mother of the house, is suspended by Labour. She lost the party whip in April 2023 after she wrote a letter to the Observer in which she argued that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experienced prejudice but not racism, and likened their experience to that of people with red hair.

She said the letter published was a draft version and that her comments had been taken out of context. She was readmitted to the party in time to hold her seat at the general election. But she was suspended again last month after telling the BBC in an interview that she did not regret the remarks.

Abbott said in Edinburgh:

I think she and Jeremy are a great combination but at this point in time, it’s difficult to see how a brand new party wins. However, I think Jeremy’s party is going to do a lot better than people think, because a lot of people are not necessarily terribly leftwing. People are a tiny bit disappointed about the way we’ve gone in the past year.

Asked whether she thought she would ever be accepted at the heart of the Labour party, Abbott said:

I think I am at the heart of the Labour party, it’s other people who aren’t.

Block Elon Musk’s bid to supply UK home energy, Ed Davey urges

Eleni Courea

Elon Musk’s company, Tesla, should have its application to supply energy to UK homes blocked on national security grounds, Ed Davey has told ministers.

The Liberal Democrat leader argued that giving the electric car manufacturer a foothold in the British energy market would be “a gravely concerning move considering Elon Musk’s repeated interference in UK politics”.

Tesla has a clean energy arm and applied in July for a licence to supply power to British homes.

If the licence is granted by the regulator, Ofgem, the US company could be competing with big UK domestic energy suppliers such as British Gas and Octopus as soon as next year.

In a letter to the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, Sir Ed cited comments by Musk on social media appearing to encourage violent riots in the UK last summer, and accused the Tesla CEO of “peddling misinformation to millions”.

Musk, in a series of posts after last summer’s riots that followed the deadly mass stabbing in Southport, wrote that “civil war is inevitable” in the UK, which he labelled a “tyrannical police state”.

He has expressed sympathy with the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

The Daily Mirror reported in January that the Home Office’s homeland security group was monitoring social media posts by Musk as a possible security risk.

Civil servants in a government department are to strike in a dispute over office closures, recruitment and attendance policies, reports the PA news agency.

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) said more than 1,100 of its members in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) will take industrial action on 1 September. Smaller groups of union members will strike from 2 to 25 September.

The union said it is campaigning to stop a number of office closures as well as other issues such as remote working.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said:

Office closures do nothing to serve the department’s goal of tackling regional inequalities. Ministers will see staff speak with their feet when they return from recess.

Senior management have been clear – they will not seek to resolve this dispute without ministerial direction.

An MHCLG spokesperson said:

We have engaged and continue to engage extensively with unions and staff to resolve this dispute, and do not believe the current action is an appropriate response to the issues raised.

We will continue to have an office in every English region as well as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and all staff affected will be able to continue in their roles.

The approach to office attendance is replicated across the civil service and has not changed since early 2024.

Thousands of people living abroad will have their child benefit stopped as the government clamps down on people wrongly claiming the payment, reports the PA news agency.

People who leave the UK for more than eight weeks are no longer eligible for the benefit, other than in exceptional circumstances, but some continue to claim it incorrectly.

According to the PA news agency, ministers have announced that a specialist team scouring international travel data and 200,000 child benefit records to find wrongful payments will be significantly expanded in an attempt to save more money.

It follows a successful trial in which 15 investigators stopped 2,600 people receiving the benefit after moving abroad, saving around £17m over the past year. That team will now be increased to more than 200 investigators, with the Cabinet Office suggesting this could see “tens of thousands” of people lose the benefit and save £350m over the next five years.

Cabinet Office minister Georgia Gould said:

From September, we’ll have 10 times as many investigators saving hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. If you’re claiming benefits you’re not entitled to, your time is up.

Child benefit is the most widely accessed benefit in the UK and is paid to more than 6.9 million families, supporting 11.9 million children.

The government has made cracking down on wrongful benefit payments a significant part of its efforts to cut costs, with overpayments estimated to have cost £9.5bn in the year to March. These efforts include the public authorities (fraud, error and recovery) bill currently making its way through parliament.

Ministers have billed the legislation as delivering the “biggest ever crackdown on fraud against the public purse”, including measures that allow the government to recover money directly from fraudsters’ bank accounts.

GMB urges government to ‘take a stake’ in the future of Liberty Steel

GMB has urged the government to “take a stake” in the future of Liberty Steel after assuming control of its Speciality Steels UK (SSUK) division.

The PA news agency reports that Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB national officer, told BBC Breakfast that recent developments show why public ownership or greater government control is needed. She said:

What has happened at Liberty Steel is again another example of when the government does not have a stake in these important national assets, they are at the whim of often international owners that have profit above people and don’t have a stake in the UK national infrastructure.

GMB would like to see government take a stake in the ownership of Liberty Steel and ultimately have a say in its future.

Brumpton-Childs said staff faced “huge uncertainty” in the aftermath of the government taking control of the UK’s third-largest steelworks and that court cases meant workers had been left in limbo for months.

She told BBC Breakfast:

It’s been a yo-yo, where we’ve never been really sure what the court decision was going to be.

We’ve sort of expected this insolvency decision several times over the last couple of months and I think it’s been really hard for everyone because you can’t predict what a judge is going to say.

The mayor of South Yorkshire said there has been “interest from companies” who may want to “take on” steel sites after the government had to take control of the operation, reports the PA news agency.

The high court confirmed on Thursday that Speciality Steel – previously part of Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel business – would face a compulsory liquidation. It has plants in Rotherham and Stocksbridge.

Labour mayor Oliver Coppard told BBC Breakfast:

We’ve got a team that we’ve stood up in my office, we’ve been working with the government’s steel team to make sure that we know exactly what’s going on here in terms of the assets that are on the table.

We’ve had interest from companies who we know who want to take on these sites.

There’s other interests besides the ones that have come through my office, so we’re talking to the government all the time.

An aerial photograph taken with a drone of the Liberty Steel works in Rotherham. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPA

In a seperate interview on Thursday, Coppard said the government taking control of the UK’s third-largest steelworks was “good news” but that a conclusion should not be rushed.

Speaking in Sheffield, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

The government stepping in to take control now is good news because it just brings to an end the uncertainty that we’ve seen on the sites.

I think that was the thing that was killing the business slowly, we now have that uncertainty brought to an end, that’s a good thing. But I now need the government to make sure that these three sites, two in Rotherham and one here, have the brightest possible future.

So, we have to get a new owner in, the government, I think, should take their time over that process, not a neverending amount of time, but certainly not rush to a conclusion, to give people on the site that future that they deserve.

MSP Jeremy Balfour resigns from Scottish Conservatives over ‘reactionary politics’

Scottish Conservative MSP Jeremy Balfour has resigned from the party and will sit as an independent, reports the PA news agency.

In his resignation letter to party leader Russell Findlay, Balfour said the Scottish Conservatives have “fallen into the trap of reactionary politics” and that a “positive, proactive agenda for real change” has been rejected.

Balfour said he intends to continue to represent his constituents in the Lothian region for the remainder of the parliamentary session as an independent MSP.

In his letter, also posted on social media, Balfour said he has made the decision to resign with immediate effect with a “heavy heart”. However he said: