Asylum seekers arriving in Britain

Liverpool sets the record straight

Liverpool Council Leader Liam Robinson: “Liverpool remains a city of sanctuary.” The Legacy sculpture by Mark DeGraffenried commemorates the nine million people of all backgrounds who emigrated to America via the docks of Liverpool.

August 2025: Liverpool, a city shaped by centuries of immigration and emigration, has issued a strongly worded statement contradicting public perception about asylum seekers arriving in Britain. Entitled ‘The Truth About Immigration, Refugees and People Seeking Asylum’, Liverpool’s message confronts a public, political and media frenzy with a clear message: Liverpool remains a city of sanctuary.

At the heart of the statement is a rebuttal of a persistent claim that local people are being evicted to make room for asylum seekers. Liverpool council Leader Liam Robinson calls this “categorically untrue.” The Home Office’s (the UK’s interior ministry) accommodation provider, Serco, does not displace existing tenants. Instead, asylum housing is arranged separately, often in properties that would otherwise remain vacant.

This clarification arrives amid growing tensions across the UK, where housing shortages and migration debates have become dangerously entangled. Liverpool’s intervention is both a local defence and a national call for honesty.

Beyond myth-busting, Liverpool Council stresses the need for structural reform. Council Leader Robinson urges the Government to grant local authorities greater oversight of asylum accommodation, enabling cities like Liverpool to coordinate support more effectively and uphold higher standards.

This push for decentralisation reflects a broader frustration with the UK’s asylum system, often criticised for its opacity, delays, and lack of community engagement. Liverpool’s stance suggests that cities, not just Whitehall, should have a say in how a welcome culture should be handled.

Liam Robinson’s statement is not just political; it is also personal. He invokes Liverpool’s migration history, from Irish dockworkers to Somali seafarers, reminding residents that the city’s identity is inseparable from its immigrant roots. He also reminds people that, over the centuries, millions of men, women, and children passed through the Port of Liverpool on their journey to build new lives in North America.

“In Liverpool, we don’t just tolerate difference—we thrive on it,” Liam Robinson writes. “We are a city built on movement, resilience, and solidarity.”

The Truth About Immigration, Refugees and People Seeking Asylum

Liverpool sets the record straight

Claim: People are being evicted from their homes so landlords can rent to the government’s agent for asylum housing.

Fact: Serco, the Home Office’s accommodation provider, has confirmed it does not evict existing tenants to make way for asylum accommodation. The number of people seeking asylum in the city has remained stable for some time, and we already have an established process in place.

Claim: Asylum seekers are living in luxury hotels at taxpayers’ expense.

Fact: The hotels used to accommodate people seeking sanctuary are budget hotels or repurposed buildings. The rooms are small, often shared, with no kitchens and very little privacy. People seeking asylum have no choice over where the Home Office places them.

Claim: Asylum seekers are taking hotel rooms from paying guests.

Fact: Hotels used for asylum accommodation are typically those with available space or not in high demand.

Claim: Asylum seekers get free housing from Liverpool Council.

Fact: People seeking asylum are placed in temporary accommodation by the Home Office while their claims are being assessed. This might be shared housing or a hotel. Currently, local authorities do not choose who comes or where they stay. Once granted refugee status, individuals can apply for social housing or rent privately, like any other eligible resident. 

Claim: Asylum seekers get a house as soon as they arrive in Britain.

Fact: Asylum seekers often wait months or even years in temporary accommodation allocated by the Home Office. They don’t get to choose where they live, and they cannot apply for social housing until they are granted refugee status.

Claim: Refugees jump the queue for social housing.

Fact: Refugees go through the same housing application process as everyone else. Being granted refugee status does not give automatic priority. All applications are assessed based on need.

Claim: Asylum seekers get £70 a day in spending money.

Fact: Asylum seekers in hotel accommodation receive £9.95 a week, that’s about £1.42 a day, to cover essentials like toiletries. Those in temporary accommodation receive £49.18 a week to cover food, clothing and toiletries.

Claim: Asylum seekers purposely refuse to work to pay for their stay.

Fact: Government rules currently do not allow people seeking asylum to work while they wait for a decision. This is government policy, not their personal choice.

Claim: Liverpool takes more than its fair share of asylum seekers.

Fact: Every local council in the UK is expected to do its bit. Liverpool already hosts many people seeking asylum. There are over 100 less people seeking asylum in the city than 12 months ago and no new asylum accommodation is planned for the city. 

Claim: “Asylum seekers are given better treatment than the city’s homeless.

Fact: Asylum seekers are housed due to the government’s legal obligation to do so. Homelessness is a separate and equally urgent issue. One crisis should not be used to dismiss the other.

Claim: Asylum seekers are pretending to be refugees to get free stuff.

Fact: Every asylum claim is assessed carefully by the Home Office. Most people seeking asylum are fleeing war, torture or persecution. They want safety, dignity and a chance to rebuild their lives.

Further reading: > Housing asylum seekers in Europe <

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