Jacob Rees-Mogg recently spotlighted the Winford Manor Hotel in North Somerset on his GB News show, questioning its use as accommodation for asylum seekers. However, this hotel was actually commissioned by the Conservative government during his tenure in the cabinet.
The former Conservative MP for North East Somerset appeared on his ‘State of the Nation’ program last week, visiting the hotel grounds and asking, “Is this an illegal migrant place?” He expressed disbelief that asylum seekers could be housed in such a remote location, suggesting the government might be keeping them “hidden from people who may not be so keen on the idea of migrant hotels.”
Despite the apparent surprise, the hotel was designated for asylum seeker housing in September 2022, following a decision made by the Conservative government at a time when Rees-Mogg, then Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency, was a senior cabinet member. Though not part of the Home Office, he remained in government through the transition from Boris Johnson’s premiership to Liz Truss’s short tenure as Prime Minister, later serving as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
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Locals in Winford expressed concern when the hotel began housing asylum seekers, with 56 residents attending an open forum in September 2022. The parish council subsequently relayed residents’ questions to the authorities but did not revisit the issue in their minutes until two years later, when councillors sought clarification from the Home Office about the hotel’s continued use.
Following the broadcast of Rees-Mogg’s investigation, some neighbors shared safety worries with MailOnline, while others felt the concerns were overstated. Police records indicate no reported offences related to residents at the hotel in the last six months, although five public order incidents were logged there.
Asylum seekers housed in such facilities are not permitted to work while their claims are processed by the Home Office. Opposition leader Keir Starmer has pledged that Labour will eliminate the practice of housing asylum seekers in hotels by the end of the current Parliament.