In a rapidly intensifying political standoff, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Tory-run councils across England to consider launching legal challenges against the use of hotels to house asylum seekers. The move follows a landmark High Court ruling on August 19, 2025, which granted Epping Forest District Council a temporary injunction blocking the Bell Hotel in Essex from accommodating migrants. The court’s decision, hailed by Badenoch as “a victory for local people,” has emboldened councils of various political stripes to assess whether they too can deploy legal tactics to restrict the government’s use of hotels for asylum accommodation.
The Epping case has become a flashpoint in the broader debate over the UK’s management of asylum seekers. The injunction, which requires approximately 140 asylum seekers to be moved out of the Bell Hotel by September 12, 2025, leaves the government with little time to identify alternative housing. According to BBC News, the High Court sided with Epping Forest District Council after it argued that the hotel’s use for asylum accommodation breached planning laws and posed safety risks, with documented harms arising from protests that had at times turned violent. Police officers were assaulted and vehicles damaged earlier in August during demonstrations outside the hotel, with fireworks and eggs thrown at both officers and the building.
In a letter circulated to Conservative council leaders, Badenoch wrote, “We back you to take similar action to protect your community... if your legal advice supports it.” She commended Epping’s initiative and encouraged others to consult planning officers about further enforcement options, noting that the appropriateness of legal action would depend on the specifics of each case. Badenoch also accused Labour of “trying to ram through such asylum hotels without consultation and proper process,” highlighting that the current government had reopened the Bell Hotel for asylum seekers after it had previously been closed under Conservative management.
The ripple effects of the Epping ruling have been felt far beyond Essex. Councils led by all major parties—including Labour-run Tamworth and Wirral, Conservative-controlled Broxbourne and East Lindsey, and Reform UK’s Staffordshire and West Northamptonshire—are now exploring whether they can pursue similar legal strategies. Some, like Newcastle City Council and Brighton and Hove City Council, both Labour-run, have opted against taking legal action for now. Reform UK’s leader, Nigel Farage, has been particularly vocal, urging his party’s councils to “do everything in their power to follow Epping’s lead.” In The Telegraph, Farage encouraged “peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels” to pressure local authorities into court action, writing, “Wherever people are concerned about the threat posed by young undocumented males living in local hotels and who are free to walk their streets, they should follow the example of the town in Essex.”
On the Labour side, the response has been sharply critical. A party spokesperson dismissed Badenoch’s call as “desperate and hypocritical nonsense from the architects of the broken asylum system,” pointing out that under Conservative governance, the number of hotels used for asylum seekers had peaked at over 400 in 2023. “There are now half that and there are now 20,000 fewer asylum seekers in hotels than at their peak under the Tories,” the spokesperson added. Labour’s shadow home secretary Chris Philp, meanwhile, has advocated for alternatives to hotel accommodation, suggesting the use of former military sites or barges such as the Bibby Stockholm, which, despite initial setbacks—including a legionella outbreak and a tragic suicide—was described as a viable solution for housing large numbers of asylum seekers.
Philp’s position reflects growing pressure from multiple political directions. He told BBC Breakfast, “I think these councils are sick and tired of having these asylum hotels, housing predominantly young men who entered the country illegally, in these communities. They want to see them closed down.” He further argued that, following the Epping ruling, asylum seekers should not simply be relocated to other hotels, flats, or house-shares, but rather to purpose-built or repurposed facilities such as former barracks or modular accommodation. “We need a Rwanda-style deterrent so everyone crossing the channel illegally gets deported either back to their country of origin if possible, or a third country if not,” Philp said in an interview with BBC Radio Today.
The government’s options, however, are constrained by its legal obligation to provide shelter for destitute asylum seekers while their applications are processed. Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis acknowledged the urgency of the situation, telling the BBC that officials are “looking at contingency options” for housing those being moved out of the Bell Hotel. He cited the potential purchase of tower blocks and former student accommodation as possible solutions, but emphasized that arrangements would vary by region. Penny Mordaunt, former Conservative leader of the House of Commons, offered a stark warning: “That is going to be so much worse than hotels. It will alter the housing stock in particular,” she said, cautioning that converting family homes into houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) could exacerbate local housing shortages.
The numbers at the heart of this debate are striking. According to the latest Home Office figures, 32,345 asylum seekers were residing in UK hotels at the end of March 2025, a 15% drop from December 2024 and a 6% decrease from the same period the previous year. This marks a significant reduction from the peak of 56,042 in September 2023. Labour claims the number of hotels in use has fallen from over 400 to fewer than 210, a trend that both sides interpret as evidence for their respective arguments—Labour as proof of progress, Conservatives as a sign that alternative solutions are needed urgently.
The political stakes are high. With new Home Office statistics on asylum hotel usage set for release, both government and opposition are bracing for further scrutiny. Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice has called for more protests to force councils into legal action, while Labour is preparing for a potential wave of court cases that could displace thousands of asylum seekers. The school standards minister, Catherine McKinnell, struck a conciliatory note, saying, “We recognise the legitimate concerns and the efforts local authorities are making,” but declined to say whether Labour would support councils mounting legal challenges.
As the legal and political battles play out, the fate of thousands of asylum seekers—and the communities that host them—hangs in the balance. The government’s next moves, and the willingness of councils to pursue legal action, will determine whether the Epping ruling represents a turning point or just another chapter in the UK’s ongoing asylum accommodation crisis.
