From Council Halls to Courtrooms: Reform UK Fights Asylum Hotels

Following strong gains in the local elections, Reform UK is considering legal challenges to block the housing of asylum seekers in hotels within the areas it now governs. Party chairman Zia Yusuf said Reform would use “every instrument of power available, including judicial reviews and injunctions, to fulfill its pledge to resist migrant housing in Reform-controlled councils.

The Home Office manages accommodation for adult asylum seekers, and while councils can object, they hold little formal authority to stop placements. Yusuf, however, believes there are legal and regulatory avenues worth exploring. “These hotels… become something else entirely, like hostels, which may breach regulations. That’s what our legal teams are investigating,” he told the BBC.

Reform, which won over 600 seats and control of 10 councils, says it intends to push back using planning laws and budget mechanisms. Asked about a comment by the new Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns suggesting migrants be housed in tents, Yusuf defended the idea, noting: “That’s what France does.”

He also announced that the party will soon release a plan to deport all individuals currently in the UK illegally during its first term in government.

While experts note that legal tools like judicial reviews can delay government actions, they rarely overturn central asylum policies. Still, Reform’s aggressive local strategy highlights its intention to reshape the national immigration debate from the ground up.