Home Office figures in August revealed there are 168 asylum seekers living in Oxford City Council’s boundaries, many of them in the Holiday Inn Express near to Oxford’s Kassam Stadium.
Nationwide protests began this summer in Epping, Essex, with a Judge initially granting an injunction that would have blocked asylum seekers staying in The Bell Hotel.
Though this was overturned on August 29, this has not stopped protests and counter-protests continuing around the country most notably last Saturday (September 13) when thousands took to London streets.
Protesters speak in the middle of the road(Image: Matthew Evans)
In Oxford, there have been regular protests going on with the latest today (Saturday September 20), drawing just under 90 people in total.
Around 30 were protesting against the hotel, while 60 were involved in the Stand Up to Racism counter-protest.
Paul Jennings, 67, from the local neighbourhood was one of those protesting the hotel.
“I want to stop the boats for starters,” he said. “I want to protect our country.”
He added that he and his wife felt unsafe in the area because of the presence of the asylum seekers.
Paul Jennings(Image: Matthew Evans)
He said: “We’ve got schools around here. They shouldn’t be allowed to roam the streets.”
His preference would be that they are instead housed in detention centres.
Teige Matthews-Palmer, who is in his 30s, is also an Oxford resident but attended on the Stand Up to Racism side and is “worried about the threat from the far right”.
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“We are not discussing the real issues, the real causes of poverty,” he said.
The pink limousine briefly stopped in the middle of the protests(Image: Matthew Evans)
“We are worried that racism is increasing,” he added before saying that those organising the Oxford anti-asylum hotel demonstrations are friends of far-right national figures.
He said: “A lot of frustrated people are looking to them for an alternative.”
Teige Matthews-Palmer in the crowd(Image: Matthew Evans)
During the protest there was regular chanting and songs on both sides.
An unusual moment occurred when a pink stretched limousine stopped between the protesters before driving on.
Meanwhile the most notable point of conflict occurred when a man with a video camera was escorted away by police.
A man is taken away by police – he would later return(Image: Matthew Evans)
He later returned to the protest, but a member of the anti-asylum hotel protestors said it showed “two-tier policing”.
Mary-Jane Clare, 57, lives in the neighbourhood and said that as she went over to find out what was going on, while her friend was being taken away, she was pushed.
A left leg amputee, she said she could have broken a bone if she had fallen and when she complained to the police and “said it is two-tiered they weren’t interested”.
Mary-Jane Clare (right) with others(Image: Matthew Evans)
At another point members of both sides came together to peacefully debate immigration and asylum seekers.
A woman, who was protesting the asylum hotel, said they were having a “lively debate”.
Promoting the benefits of discussion, she said that “we are being designed to fight each other”.
The Burchardt family including Jeremy far left and Rachael left(Image: Matthew Evans)
Rachael Burchardt, 18, was one of those speaking to her and said she found that there was a lot of common ground including that neither are fans of Nigel Farage – leader of Reform UK – and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
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She said: “I just really don’t understand how you can such different policies when you have such similar morals.”
Protestors from separate sides hug having debated(Image: Matthew Evans)
The 18-year-old added that it was “billionaires” that should be held to account.
Her father is Jeremy Burchardt, 56, who said he was at the protest in honour of his grandfather.
“My granddad was an anti-Nazi with a party called the SDP,” he said before explaining how the rise of the Nazis forced him to flee Germany to Oxford.
He added: “My family are deeply grateful to Oxford for being welcoming to people fleeing persecution.”