Southport a year on: Epping protests and the rising tide of division

“Protect our kids.” “Deport foreign criminals.” “Refugees are welcome here.”

These competing chants rang out outside The Bell Hotel in Epping this week, where protests and counter-protests erupted following the arrest of an Ethiopian asylum seeker charged with the sexual assault of a local girl. Around 300 anti-migrant demonstrators gathered outside the hotel, which currently houses asylum seekers, met by more than 2,000 counter-protesters expressing support for refugee rights.

The protest comes almost exactly one year after the Southport tragedy, when three young girls, Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Their attacker, Axel Rudakubana, was a British citizen of Rwandan origin. However, widespread misinformation about his immigration status at the time fuelled a wave of anti-immigrant riots across England.

This week, Southport held a three-minute silence to mark the anniversary. Yet even in mourning, the town remains tense. Police are reportedly monitoring social media again, concerned about a repeat of last year’s unrest, especially as protests against asylum hotels like those in Epping grow, and xenophobia gains traction in British public discourse.

Communities understandably feel anger and grief when serious crimes affect them. But when that pain turns into collective blame based on nationality or immigration status, the conversation moves from accountability to scapegoating.

As Natasha Tsangarides of Freedom from Torture said in an interview with the Morning Star, “hateful rhetoric inspires hateful acts.”

A year on from the Southport riots, how has the discourse around immigration changed? 

Epping protests: climate of discontent

According to a recent 2025 Ipsos study:

• 67% of Britons think immigration is too high

• But only 14% want fewer immigrant doctors or nurses

• 70% associate ‘immigrants’ with asylum seekers, even though the UK ranks 19th in Europe for asylum applications per capita

• 62% believe asylum seekers are economic migrants ‘gaming the system’

  
  

It’s true that a growing number of the British public harbour anti-immigrant sentiment, particularly against asylum seekers. We’re sure it won’t be the first time for the reader to hear accusations of benefit scrounging and job stealing, as reflected also in these statistics. The hotels, which are the focus of protests in Epping, are emblematic of grief and xenophobia, but also due to the reality of a dysfunctional asylum system controlled by the Home Office.

At a broader scale in the UK, tens of thousands of refugees have waited over a year for an initial decision on their claims due to backlogs and poor-quality refusals.

Asylum seekers cannot work during this time, and subsequently, the government provides housing and support, which they are forced to rely on, fuelling the negative perceptions mentioned above. Furthermore, regular asylum accommodation capacity is exhausted, and with a growing waiting list, the government has resorted to expensive hotel placements, funded in part by diverting international aid and hiking immigration fees.

This has fed the public’s frustration. With rising living costs, and pressure on services, with increasing numbers of parents reportedly increasingly skipping meals so they can provide for their children, many view asylum seekers as an unfair burden on what they view as their society. This is a perception made worse by the visibility of hotel use, even if the reality for those inside is one of isolation and uncertainty. 

The government has responded with tougher rhetoric and policy. Deportation efforts have increased, particularly against foreign nationals with criminal convictions. Meanwhile, the number of hotels in use has been cut from over 400 to under 210.

But hotel placements are only the surface issue. Xenophobia, fed by political messaging, media framing, and a dysfunctional asylum process, remains a deeply entrenched problem. Combined with systemic failures and long-standing stigma, it’s a complex crisis, one that shows no signs of easing.

A year on, it’s understandable that communities feel anger when violence affects them. But casting all asylum seekers in a single negative light, when they are facing marginalisation, working bans, and systemic delays, is both unfair and unhelpful.

A call for responsible leadership

The reality of injustice and heartbreak for families affected by crime is important. But so too is recognising that this group is being consistently vilified. 

Reconciling public pressure for stricter immigration controls with the need to avoid alienating those who support immigration is a political tightrope. However, those in positions of power and influence must work to shift both the language and the policies on migration away from hatred and division, and towards something fairer, more constructive and uniting in humanity.