...

Logo Pasino du Havre - Casino-Hôtel - Spa
in partnership with
Logo Nextory

Protests in UK against asylum seeker housing continue, counter-protests arise

Europe • Aug 23, 2025, 5:23 PM
3 min de lecture
1

Protesters took to the streets across the UK on Saturday including in the city of Liverpool to demonstrate against hotels housing asylum-seekers.

A number of protests under the Abolish Asylum System slogan, coined by right-wing political parties, were also set to take place in other cities including in Bristol, Newcastle, and London.

In Liverpool, a counter-protest organised by Stand Up To Racism was also held.

Police could also be seen leading away protesters from the Abolish Asylum System protest and pushing back demonstrators from the counter protest.

The dilemma of how to house asylum-seekers in Britain got more challenging for the government after a landmark court ruling this week motivated opponents to fight hotels used as accommodation.

Politicians on the right capitalized on a temporary injunction that blocked housing asylum-seekers in a hotel in Epping, on the outskirts of London, to encourage other communities to also go to court.

Legal obligation to house asylum-seekers

The issue is at the heart of a heated public debate over how to control unauthorized immigration that has bedevilled countries across the West as an influx of migrants seeking a better life as they flee war-torn countries, poverty, regions wracked by climate change or political persecution.

In the UK, the debate has focused on the arrival of migrants crossing the English Channel in overloaded boats run by smugglers and escalating tensions over housing thousands of asylum-seekers at government expense around the country.

The government is legally obligated to house asylum-seekers. Using hotels to do so had been a marginal issue until 2020, when the number of asylum-seekers increased sharply and the then-Conservative government had to find new ways to house them.

There have been more than 27,000 unauthorized arrivals so far this year, nearly 50% higher than at the same point last year and ahead of the number at this time of year in 2022, when a record 45,755 came ashore.

The number of asylum-seekers housed in hotels stood at just over 32,000 at the end of June, according to Home Office figures released Thursday. That figure was up 8% from about 29,500 a year earlier but far below the peak of more than 56,000 in September 2023.

A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

In May, the National Audit Office said those temporarily living in hotels accounted for 35% of all people in asylum accommodation.


Today

Can the EU economy withstand the trade deal with the US?
Europe • 3:01 PM
6 min
"It was the best possible deal," the European Commission said of the tariff agreement reached between the US and the EU, with the vast majority of the bloc's exports now attracting 15% in customs duties. We analyse the impact of the "America First" impera
Read the article
EU Commission labels alleged Libyan attack on NGO ship 'worrying development'
Europe • 2:26 PM
4 min
The European Commission considers an alleged Libyan coast guard shooting on the NGO boat Ocean Viking, which occurred on Sunday, a “worrying development”. This is one of several documented occasions on which the Libyan coast guard has apparently fired at
Read the article
Watch the video: Where in the EU are people working long hours?
Europe • 1:43 PM
4 min
The share of people working 49 hours or more every week has dropped in the past decade. However, the EU-wide figure hides striking discrepancies.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/08/2
Read the article
EU defends sovereign right to regulate tech against Trump's latest tariff threat
Europe • 1:16 PM
5 min
The European Commission has defended its sovereign right to regulate in reaction to Donald Trump's threat of retaliation against Big Tech laws.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/08/26/e
Read the article
'We have a lot to do’: President Vučić insists Serbia’s EU membership remains crucial
Europe • 11:16 AM
17 min
Serbia’s president told Euronews his country faces significant challenges, saying "we have a lot to do, many things to do" while balancing protest demands with preparations for Expo 2027 and ongoing EU membership negotiations.<div class="small-12 column t
Read the article
France detains man after bodies in River Seine raise fears of 'homophobic' murders
Europe • 10:56 AM
2 min
The bodies of four men were discovered in the river earlier this month in Choisy-Le-Roi, a southeastern suburb of the French capital.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/08/26/france-detains-man-a
Read the article
Yes, postal voting exists in Europe, contrary to Trump's claims
Europe • 10:54 AM
2 min
Trump has claimed that mail-in ballots only exist in the US electoral system, vowing to scrap the voting method by the 2026 midterm elections. Here are the facts.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/my
Read the article
Smugglers in Bulgaria nearly kill 24 migrants who paid thousands to get into EU
Europe • 10:36 AM
3 min
The 24 migrants from Afghanistan were found in a van in Lozenets, a village situated on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast and near the Turkish border.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/2025/08/26/smugglers-
Read the article
Portuguese postal service joins list of European companies suspending goods deliveries to the US
Europe • 9:21 AM
3 min
The Portuguese company said the measure comes into force Tuesday 26 August.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><a href="https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/08/26/portuguese-postal-service-joins-list-of-european-companies-suspendin
Read the article
Exclusive: EU countries push to abolish trade barriers with Mediterranean partners
Europe • 4:31 AM
4 min
In the forthcoming Pact for the Mediterranean, the EU considers relaunching an attempt at deeper integration with Mediterranean countries, amidst instability in its relations with the US and China.<div class="small-12 column text-center article__button"><
Read the article