Despite the borough having had no asylum contingency hotels since the start of 2025, Westminster’s increasingly extreme local Conservatives have tried to jump on the latest Farage-fuelled bandwagon by calling on the Council to take legal injunctions out to block hypothetical asylum hotels from being placed in our City. This unsubtle attempt at dog-whistle politics, implying that hosting asylum seekers in Westminster creates ‘concerns over safety’, shows them moving further away from the ‘one-nation’ party they once claimed to be in Westminster.
Contingency hotels were created by the previous Conservative government to house asylum seekers whilst they slow-rolled asylum processing, and their number peaked at eight in Westminster in the final months of the last government. They are clearly a far from ideal approach to housing people in need and the Labour Government has rightly committed to end their use by the end of the Parliament.
In the past the Labour Council has raised concerns when the previous Conservative government clustered contingency hotels in small local areas – notably Lancaster Gate and Bayswater – within Westminster (which put pressure on services in a hyperlocal area when capacity existed elsewhere in the borough), and around the use of poor-quality accommodation. We also pushed back when Robert Jenrick tried to force asylum seekers into unsafe conditions by exceeding room capacities in Pimlico.
Whilst the Government rightly works to reduce and ultimately end the use of contingency hotels, their placement around the country must be fair, proportionate and appropriate so that no one community faces undue burdens.
However we are clear that under Westminster Labour’s leadership the Council will continue to uphold the best traditions of our city, with our diverse and welcoming communities playing their part in helping those seeking refuge. Our council officers, and amazing voluntary sector organisations like the Cardinal Hume Centre and Unfold, have helped make those who are placed here welcome during their time in our city. Westminster is a member of the Local Authority of Sanctuary network and is committed to continuing to improve our partnership working to ensure refugees and asylum seekers are treated fairly in our city.
Westminster City Council Leader Adam Hug has replied to the local Conservatives formally setting out the Council’s response here (also see below). Cllr Hug also said:
“There are currently no asylum hotels in the city. However, Westminster has a long, proud history of playing its part by offering refuge to vulnerable people from across the world. Westminster Labour does not believe the presence of asylum seekers in our community makes our residents less safe. Politicians have a responsibility to treat such matters seriously and sensitively without fanning the flames of community tension, including where it does not currently exist as in Westminster”.
