Cumbria Park Hotel asylum triggers plea to reject hatred

In a social media message earlier this week, Carlisle’s Cumbria Park Hotel on Scotland Road, Stanwix, confirmed that it will cease to operate as a hotel from today and instead be used exclusively for families seeking asylum.

The city's MP John Stevenson has branded the accommodation's location as 'inappropriate' but urged locals to be "careful" with their language when debating the hugely controversial issue.

The news has triggered scores of comments on social media, many of them overtly hostile. Others are more welcoming.

The Home Office initially said the hotel will accommodate only female asylum seekers, and while Mr Stevenson says he believes this will still be the case that has yet to be formally confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Hilltop Heights Hotel in Carlisle is already being used to house male asylum seekers and other hotels in the county are also being used.

The issue has reignited the debate about refugees and the government’s handling of this increasingly heated issue.

Karen Lockney, the Labour county councillor for Denton Holme in Carlisle, said the plight of refugees is now becoming a distraction from the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which itself is fuelling social disruption.  

“The amount of hate that can be seen on social media threads in relation to the housing of people seeking asylum in Cumbria hotels is very concerning," she said.

“Let’s remember that we have recently seen a terrorist attack in Dover, fuelled by the narrative of hatred that is taking root in relation to this issue. On Cumbria threads there is talk of protests, of ‘taking a stand’ outside hotels.

“There is an assumption that people seeking asylum are going to be a danger to communities, and there’s a particular fear of males being expressed. Cumbria has a proud tradition of welcoming refugees and people seeking asylum.

“We have seen kindness extended to the people of the Ukraine who are seeking refuge here – a recent post about an afternoon tea provided to Ukrainians in a Lakes hotel had hundreds of comments praising the kind gesture.

“What is different here?”

She said she understood anxiety caused by a large influx of people in areas where resources are already stretched in a cost-of-living crisis.

“But is it the right approach to show such anger, fear and hatred, directed to people who are – in the vast majority of cases – fleeing war, extreme poverty and persecution? I worry that there’s a narrative of hatred, fuelled right from the top.”

She questioned the language used recently by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who described the recent influx of asylum seekers on the south coast as an “invasion.” Outsiders should not be "painted as a threat", she said.

Councillor Lockney said the UK’s intake of asylum seekers is far lower than in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece.

“If people are directing their anger at people seeking asylum, they aren’t directing it at a government which recently crashed the UK economy and a PM with no mandate to govern,” said Councillor Lockney.

“People should be angry they can’t get a GP appointment and can’t pay the gas bill, but it's not the fault of people who have literally risked their lives to escape a situation in their home country to come here.

They aren’t on a cheap package trip; they’ve risked everything they have to come to safety, and we should show compassion and expect a system that processes claims quickly and fairly.”

Brian Wernham, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Stanwix on the shadow Cumberland authority, urged locals to help the asylum seekers. He was annoyed by the suggestion that the plan to house only women in the hotel may have changed.

He has brought together a community liaison group, with the intention of helping the women asylum seekers who were expected. The volunteers' aim is to help the hotel’s new residents get to know Carlisle and its services, he said.

Asked about the at times negative responses to the plan, he said this had not surprised him and was the result of an “information vacuum” about what would happen at Cumbria Park Hotel.

"I have assembled 40 female volunteers on the basis of categorical assurances that we will receive female only refuge seekers," he said. "Now our MP says he is not sure."

He called for the resignation of Home Secretary Suella Braverman over her handling of the refugee issue. He stressed that the local volunteers wanted offer the new arrivals "moral support, practical help and understanding."

Carlisle MP John Stevenson said: "I have had discussions with the Home Office seeking clarity and reassurances on these issues and I have made representations to Ministers about local concerns.

"When I spoke to the Home Office, I was assured the Cumbria Park Hotel would be taking single female occupants only. There are rumours locally that this might not be the case so I've sought confirmation that it will be  single women only.

"It's extremely important to consider the host community, or other problems will emerge." The MP said Cumbria has traditionally welcomed refugees, and cited the recent influx of refugees from Ukraine.

Genuine refugees need to be welcomed and integrated, he said. But Mr Stevenson remains convinced that the Cumbria Park Hotel is not the right place, given its location in the middle of a busy residential area.

He admitted the government faced challenges on the issue, adding: "But we all have to be careful about the language we use; these are individual human beings we are talking about and they should be treated in a proper way."

Cumbria County Council Leader Stewart Young accused the Government of failing to get a grip on the whole issue.

"But we must recognise that these people are not illegal immigrants," he said. "Anyone has a right, enshrined in law, to seek asylum in this country and we must treat them properly when they do. Given the chaos in the national response, I accept Cumbria has a role to play, just like everywhere else."

* According to Government data, 38,000 people seeking asylum have arrived in the UK by small boat so far this year. According to some estimates, it costs £6.8m per day to provide hotel accommodation for those awaiting a decision on their application for asylum in the UK.

According to the Refugee Council, 96 per cent of the asylum applications made in 2021 are still awaiting a decision. 

Tamsin Baxter, Executive Director of External Affairs at the Refugee Council, said: “The asylum backlog causes misery for every person waiting months, years even, for news of their fate, unable to work or move on with their lives.

"It is also causing a concerningly high number of people to be crammed into hotel accommodation."