Labour commits to clearing 38,000 from hotels by 2029 amid warnings of ‘easier said than done’ as Home Office budget slashed
Exclusive: Rachel Reeves has declared war on illegal migration, vowing to deport “anyone who hasn’t got the right to be in this country” as she unveiled plans to end the use of costly asylum hotels within this Parliament.
In a dramatic intervention during her spending review today, the Chancellor pledged to save taxpayers £1 billion a year by clearing the asylum backlog and booting out those with no right to remain – but critics warn the plan could see migrants moved into communities across Britain.
The bold announcement comes as shocking new figures reveal the government splashed £3.1 billion on housing asylum seekers in hotels during 2023-24 alone – with 38,000 migrants currently living in taxpayer-funded accommodation.
Speaking exclusively to GB News’s Christopher Hope, Ms Reeves pulled no punches: “I want to deport anyone who hasn’t got a right to be in this country. We have increased deportations substantially since we came to office and that is the right thing to do. If people don’t have a right to be in this country, they should be sent back home.”
Community tensions feared
But the Chancellor’s tough talk has sparked serious concerns about where the tens of thousands of migrants will go once hotels close their doors – with fears growing they could be dispersed into residential areas using controversial Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs).
Christopher Hope warned GB News viewers: “Almost certainly, it means more use of HMOs houses in multiple occupation. That means, rather than placing asylum seekers in hotels, they will go into flats and homes.
The warning comes after violent riots erupted in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, this week following allegations of sexual assault involving Romanian teenagers – leaving 15 police officers injured and properties firebombed in what authorities branded “racist thuggery.
‘Easier said than done’
Home Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Karen Bradley delivered a stark reality check to the government’s ambitious plans, warning: “This is easier said than done.
She cautioned that unless the promised savings materialise, it will have a devastating knock-on effect on the department’s wider ambitions across policing, immigration and counter-terrorism.
If hotels disappear there will still need to be stock of short-term accommodation to deal with unpredictable levels of irregular migration,” Dame Bradley warned. “Targets on their own are not enough, they need to be delivered – and for that we need to have workable solutions.”
Record Channel crossings continue
The announcement comes as Britain faces a migration crisis of unprecedented proportions. Channel crossings hit a record high in the first five months of 2025, with 14,812 arrivals – surpassing the previous record of 13,489 for the first six months of any year.
Pictures from Dover on Wednesday showed new arrivals in life jackets being brought ashore in Border Force boats – the first crossings of June as the small boats crisis shows no sign of abating.
To tackle the smuggling gangs, Reeves announced an additional £280 million per year for the Border Security Command by the end of the spending review period, on top of an initial £150 million to establish the unit last year.
Hotels to HMOs: The controversial switch
The government’s plan appears to hinge on moving asylum seekers from hotels into HMOs – shared houses typically occupied by multiple unrelated people. But this strategy has already sparked fierce criticism from housing charities and safety experts.
Controversially, the government has temporarily exempted asylum accommodation from crucial HMO licensing requirements until 2026, removing vital safety protections including:
- Electrical and gas safety certificates
- Minimum bedroom size requirements
- Working smoke alarms on every floor
- Regular safety inspections by councils
Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Shelter, warned: “Licensing for HMOs was brought in to keep people safe. By doing away with these protections, the government is putting thousands of people, including children and older people, at serious risk.
‘No plan’ blast from Tories
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp launched a scathing attack on Labour’s strategy, declaring: “Labour’s entire budget is built on an assumption that the hotels magically empty themselves. They still have no plan for where these people will go.”
The criticism highlights the enormous challenge facing the government – with 32,345 asylum seekers housed in UK hotels at the end of March, according to latest figures.
Budget cuts compound crisis
Adding to the pressure, the Home Office budget will actually fall by 2.2% in real terms over the coming years – from £22 billion in the current financial year to £22.3 billion in 2028-29, despite the government’s border security pledges.
This reduction comes as the National Audit Office revealed the true cost of asylum accommodation is expected to hit a staggering £15.3 billion over 10 years – more than three times higher than previously estimated.
Charities welcome move but warn of risks
While refugee charities have cautiously welcomed the end of hotel use, they’ve demanded urgent reform of the accommodation system to ensure vulnerable people aren’t simply shifted from one crisis to another.
Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, said: “Moving from former commercial hotels to accommodation situated within communities would be welcome, but what the government really needs to end is the for-profit asylum accommodation model that has created billionaires.
Enver Solomon of the Refugee Council added: “The deadline of 2029 feels far away and we urge government to make it happen before then. People arriving in search of safety should be housed within our communities, not isolated in remote hotels.”
£200m transformation fund
To deliver on the promise, the government has allocated £200 million in transformation funding to speed up the overhaul of the asylum system. Documents show this will be used to “cut the asylum backlog, hear more appeal cases and return people who have no right to be here.
But with asylum applications still running at near-record levels – 59,085 first-time applicants in February 2025 alone – critics question whether the funding will be sufficient to tackle the enormous backlog.
The Ballymena warning
The violent scenes in Ballymena this week serve as a stark warning of what could lie ahead as communities across Britain brace for an influx of asylum seekers into residential areas.
During two nights of rioting, masked youths – including teenage girls – hurled rocks and petrol bombs at police, firebombed properties housing migrants, and left Filipino families fleeing with their suitcases.
One rioter told reporters: “The anger’s against the politicians bringing in all these illegal immigrants. If this is the only way to get them out of the town, then this is the way.”
As the government pushes ahead with its plans to end hotel use by 2029, the question on everyone’s lips is: will moving migrants into communities spark more Ballymenas across Britain?
Image credit:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Defence hold a roundtable with the Defence & Economic Growth Taskforce by Simon Walker / HM Treasury, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
