In the frenzy of racism and culture warring, the issue of why hotels are used gets overlooked
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broad section of Britain’s right has spent the summer behaving as if it would like a repeat of last year’s racist riots. As politicians and commentators cry “tinderbox Britain” – are they warning us, or willing it on? – far-right extremists have been actively trying to stoke violence. This year, they have pinned their hopes on asylum hotels, an issue where public fears over crime, immigration and the welfare state conveniently converge.
In some places, far-right activists have piggybacked on protests prompted by local grievances. The most significant this year was in Epping, Essex, after an alleged sexual assault by an asylum seeker led to demonstrations that turned violent when they were joined by members of various far-right groups. A similar pattern has unfolded in London’s Canary Wharf, after untrue rumours that some of the Epping hotel residents were being moved there. In other cases, far-right activists have themselves organised the protests. A call has gone out among their online networks for gatherings this weekend in several parts of England.
It is unlikely – though not impossible – that the end result will be on the scale of the riots we saw last summer, since that was triggered by a shocking act of murder followed by widespread misinformation and conspiracy theories about the identity of the killer. But anti-fascist campaigners I’ve spoken to believe it may cause lower-level disturbances like those seen in Epping and in Knowsley, Merseyside, in 2023, and it will certainly help ensure that asylum hotels remain a contentious topic for many months to come.
