How hotels became targets for British rioters
A muddled policy becomes a lightning rod for anger
“IN TAMWORTH, the Holiday Inn has been used for asylum purposes for years,” said Sarah Edwards, the Labour MP for the West Midlands constituency. “The simple reality is that residents want their hotel back.” Ms Edwards posted the video of her comments, which she had made in Parliament two weeks earlier, on July 30th. She could not have known that five days later rioters would try to take it back—with petrol bombs. Tamworth was not the only place where hotels housing asylum-seekers were the focus of violent protests. Though shocking, such scenes were not surprising. Hotels have long been lightning rods for anger about immigration.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Insanity and asylum”
Britain August 10th 2024
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