Anti-asylum seeker protesters have been back on the streets of Portswood, Southampton, with dwindling numbers since the beginning of the new year.
But what they lack in actual people on the street they seem to be trying to make up for with the frequency of which they are gathering to shout outside the Highfield House Hotel, in which asylum-seekers have been placed by the Home Office whilst awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications.
They will be gathering outside the hotel again on Sunday afternoon (11/1/26).
There will also be a ‘defend refugees’ counter-demonstration.
This will be the fifth organised anti-asylum seeker gathering outside the hotel in ten days, but while weekly protests over the summer saw highs of around 100 gather to protest, recent turn outs have been around 20, with around 40 for Thursday’s protest, which also saw the group protest outside the Portswood Police and Communities Together meeting at Highfield church.
Southampton Stand Up To Racism will be holding a counter demonstration on Sunday – as they have in response to all the anti-asylum seeker protests, gathering at the bus stop outside Waitrose in Portswood at 2.45pm, before marching to to the hotel in Highfield Lane.
In a post on social media, they said “We’re calling on everyone who believes in dignity, safety and safety and solidarity to join us in a peaceful counter-protest. Let’s show that Portswood stands for welcome – not hate.”
Commentators on social media have questioned how much these frequent anti-asylum seekerprotest gatherings are costing to police – in October it was announced that the cost of policing of anti-immigration and anti-asylum seeker protests in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight was more than £100,000 in August alone.
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