Reform blasts Labour over 'empty promises' to end migrant hotels in Doncaster

The attack comes after The Treasury admitted that migrants will be housed in hotels for years to come.

It follows last week’s Home Affairs Committee, in which the independent border watchdog David Bolt said that he is “not entirely clear what Labour’s strategy is” on housing migrants in hotels and that migrants will continue to be housed in hotels “for a number of years”.

Reform says it “flies in the face” of commitments made by the Prime Minister during the 2024 General Election campaign in which he pledged to “end asylum hotels”.

This includes at least one hotel in Doncaster housing a total of 139 asylum seekers, according to the latest government data from December 2024.

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Since Labour won the general election, the number of asylum seekers housed in hotels has surged to almost 40,000.

"With no proper vetting procedures in place, the government has no understanding of the backgrounds of the tens of thousands of migrants occupying hotels in our towns and cities.

“The asylum hotel crisis now costs the British taxpayer over £5.5 million per day.”

Reform UK has committed to bringing an end to hotels for migrants by deporting those who arrive in the UK illegally.

Reform UK’s Lee Anderson said: “This is a damning indictment on Labour’s election pledge to end asylum hotels.

"Labour has no plan to deal with the illegal migrant crisis. They will keep spending millions of pounds a day housing unvetted and undocumented migrants in local communities.

“Only Reform councillors elected in Doncaster on May 1 will campaign to put a stop to this senseless abuse of the British taxpayer and the risk these hotels pose to local residents.”

The Danum Hotel in Doncaster city centre closed its doors in 2021 to house refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan, but is no longer being used for that purpose.

The Ramada Encore hotel, near to the disused Doncaster Sheffield Airport, is another regional hotel which has also been used to house asylum seekers.