Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to close every asylum hotel in the country, telling voters he “completely gets it” and wouldn’t want one near his own house either. The Prime Minister made the comments while touring the UK, where residents have spent the summer waving flags, blocking vans, and shouting at buildings.
If they don’t close the hotels, we’ll chain ourselves to the Travelodge. That’ll show them.
George England, Premier Inn enthusiast
“I want them emptied. I want them closed. Every single asylum hotel,” Starmer said, insisting he was in total agreement with locals. “If a migrant hotel opened at the end of my road, I would not be best pleased. I might even write a strongly worded letter.”
The comments came as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper tried to reassure critics by promising to fix Britain’s “broken asylum system,” although she offered no timeline beyond “eventually.” She also unveiled plans to tweak refugee family reunion rules, which she described as “fairer and more balanced, though probably still impossible to explain to normal people.”
Nigel Farage accused Labour of failing to act, warning Reform will keep “feeding on grievance.” Starmer responded by saying Reform doesn’t actually want the problem solved, accusing Farage of peddling “unworkable, fanciful ideas.” Observers noted this was rich coming from a man whose own plan to fix the issue involves simply closing hotels and hoping the migrants disappear.
Starmer also used the opportunity to back Britain’s flag-waving trend, declaring himself “a supporter of flags.” Asked about people hanging Union Jacks from lampposts, he nodded solemnly and pointed to a flag nearby, saying: “That is a flag. And I support it.”
For now, asylum seekers remain in hotels across the country, protests continue, and Britain waits to see if Starmer’s pledge to shut them all down will turn into action, or just another line to be repeated until Reform passes him in the polls.
I’m a supporter of flags
a real quote from a knight of the realm, Sir Keir
