Falkirk, a town in central Scotland, found itself at the center of a heated national debate on immigration this past Saturday, as hundreds of demonstrators from opposing sides gathered outside the Cladhan Hotel—now known locally as a flashpoint in the UK’s ongoing asylum seeker controversy. The events marked the second such large-scale protest at the location in August 2025, reflecting both local anxieties and the wider political storm engulfing the country.
The day began with an anti-immigration rally organized by the Save Our Future and Our Kids Futures group, which first assembled outside the office of Labour MP Euan Stainbank. Children and families joined the crowd, waving Saltire and Union flags, and holding up signs emblazoned with slogans like “stop the boats” and “enough is enough.” Loudspeakers carried the voices of speakers who criticized the UK government’s immigration policy and the use of hotels to house asylum seekers. Some speakers were at pains to distance themselves from far-right associations, with one man stating, “We are described as Nazis and racists. Nothing could be further from the truth.” Yet, the rhetoric was not universally moderate; one individual ended his speech with, “Keep Britain white. Keep Scotland white,” as reported by BBC.
Organizers had initially planned to march directly to the Cladhan Hotel, but after warnings from police and the council regarding legal permissions, this plan was scrapped. However, shortly after 1 p.m., small groups broke away from the main protest and made their way to the hotel, where they were joined by more demonstrators, swelling the crowd to over 200. It was here that the anti-immigration group encountered an equally formidable counter-protest, organized by Stand Up to Racism, the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC), and local residents.
The counter-demonstrators, many carrying hand-written signs reading “refugees are welcome here” and “diversity is a strength,” chanted in support of asylum seekers. A priest held a sign declaring, “diversity is a strength,” while another placard read, “everyone is welcome in Scotland... you, me and the refugee.” Sage, an organizer of the pro-immigration demonstration, told BBC, “So many people are blaming the ills of our society—the housing crisis, cost of living—on people fleeing here from around the world. The real issue is people in government aren’t tackling the issues properly and the wrong people are being blamed for our problems.”
Police Scotland deployed significant resources to keep the peace, erecting metal barriers and fencing off the road to separate the rival groups. Officers stood between the crowds, who traded chants, insults, and, at times, personal abuse. While tensions ran high and threats were reportedly made, no arrests were confirmed by the end of the day. Superintendent Lynsey Kidd stated in advance of the protest, “We will have appropriate resources in place to ensure the safety of those in attendance and mitigate disruption to the wider community.”
The Cladhan Hotel has been used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers since August 2022, and the site has become emblematic of the wider debate over immigration and asylum policy in the UK. Feelings in Falkirk have been particularly inflamed since June, when Sadeq Nikzad, a 29-year-old Afghan asylum seeker and former resident of the hotel, was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl in the town and sentenced to nine years in prison. The incident has been repeatedly cited by protest organizers as evidence of the risks associated with housing asylum seekers in local communities.
Despite this, the Save Our Future Campaign, one of the main groups behind the protests, has denied being racist, insisting that their concerns are legitimate and focused on issues like the alleged “fast tracking” of asylum seekers into social housing. The group has also sought to distance itself from inflammatory banners, such as one unfurled at a previous demonstration that read “kill ‘em all.”
Counter-protesters, meanwhile, have accused the anti-immigration groups of stoking division and scapegoating vulnerable people. Trade unionists, anti-racism campaigners, and local residents have all rallied to defend the rights of asylum seekers, arguing that the real culprits for social problems are government policies, not those seeking refuge.
The Falkirk demonstrations are far from isolated. Protests have erupted across Scotland in recent weeks, including in Perth, Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen, and Erskine. In Aberdeen on the same Saturday, about 120 anti-immigration protesters and 50 counter-demonstrators faced off outside a hotel previously known as the Patio, with each side kept apart by police and the air filled with bagpipe music and chants of “send them home.” The Cladhan and the Radisson Blu in Perth have both served as asylum seeker hotels since 2022.
Nationally, the issue of immigration is climbing the political agenda. Polling conducted on August 25 placed immigration among the top three concerns for Scots, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has predicted that the topic will loom even larger ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election. In a social media post on August 30, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer promised, “I am clear: we will not reward illegal entry. If you cross the Channel unlawfully, you will be detained and sent back.” The UK and France have begun trialing a scheme to return migrants arriving by small boats to France in exchange for legal asylum seekers moving to the UK, though the numbers involved are expected to be small compared to the 29,003 who have crossed the Channel so far in 2025—a record for this point in the year.
Within the Labour Party, pressure is mounting to deliver results. Lord Falconer, a former lord chancellor, warned that unless the government can close asylum hotels and stop Channel crossings, voters may continue to drift toward Reform UK. He told BBC Radio 4, “We’ve obviously got to move forward in relation to closing the hotels and also stopping the crossings.”
MP Euan Stainbank, whose office was the site of the initial protest, has also weighed in. He emphasized the need to “fix the broken asylum system which has not worked for years for communities such as Falkirk or those seeking refuge from persecution.” Stainbank highlighted recent Labour government actions, including ending the Tories’ Rwanda scheme and reducing the asylum backlog by over 59,000 cases by the start of 2025. He expressed disappointment that protest organizers had declined his offer for a face-to-face meeting to discuss asylum policy, noting, “My door is always open to speak to people face to face about asylum policy or any other matter.”
As Falkirk’s streets return to normal, the echoes of Saturday’s demonstrations linger, reflecting not only a community divided but also a nation at a crossroads—grappling with how to balance compassion, security, and the realities of a changing world.