An iconic hotel in one of Britain’s most famous seaside resorts is closing its doors to asylum seekers. The Metropole Hotel in Blackpool, which first opened in 1785, is expected to re-open to tourists later this year.
It comes as Labour attempts to achieve its pledge of no longer using hotels to house asylum seekers by 2029 amid growing pressure over rising costs and a backlash in local communities. The Government on Wednesday announced 11 asylum hotels had been closed and returned to local communities. It said “multiple more” are set to shut in the coming weeks, which seemingly includes the Metropole Hotel.
Local Labour MP Chris Webb, who had campaigned for the hotel to close its doors to asylum seekers, said a July deadline is in place for migrants to leave the site.
He told GB News those currently at the Lancashire hotel will have a managed transition into more “appropriate asylum accommodation”.
Mr Webb told the broadcaster that the hotel has been “part of [a] scandal” since it started housing asylum seekers in 2021 under the Conservatives.
He said: “The Home Office are engaging now with Britannia and with Serco to rehouse these people elsewhere in the country… but I can say now that Blackpool will no longer have an asylum hotel.
“When it turned into an asylum hotel in 2021, the previous Government told us it would only be here for three months. But now we’re here in 2026, and we’ve finally closed it.
“This hotel has been part of [a] scandal since it’s ever been an asylum hotel for various reasons; it’s been inadequate… I’m now going to be working night and day to hold the owners, Britannia, to account to restore this back to its former glory.”
He added: “We need to make sure this is [a] fully operational, decent hotel for tourists come the end of this season.”
The Government says it is increasing the use of “basic accommodation” to reduce the use of migrant hotels.
This includes ex-military sites such as Crowborough barracks where 350 migrants have now been moved to.
As of December last year, there were around 200 asylum hotels in use across the UK.
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