The Day a Small Town Took on the State and Won
Video by Alpha India
TOM ARMSTRONG
As we all know, earlier this year the quiet Essex market town of Epping became the centre of a political and legal storm, a storm that might turn out to be of great significance even becoming symbolic of the day the English worm finally turned.
At its heart, it’s not about a single building, the Bell Hotel, but the question of who decides what happens in our towns and, indeed, our country.
For months, locals had watched the once-busy hotel transform into a holding centre for up to 138 illegal aliens. The government insisted it was “temporary accommodation”, but few these days trust anything the government says. The people of Epping decided that it was unacceptable, insisting that there had been a noticeable increase in crime, some involving attempts at molestation and sexual advances to young girls, since the illegals – almost all young men – had arrived.
People power forced Epping Forest District Council to stop ignoring the problem and go to court to stop the government housing what is wrongly called asylum seekers in the hotel. They are no such thing, they are illegal aliens, criminals therefore, mostly coming from France, attracted here by the forced generosity of the British taxpayer. Epping Forest District Council won. Good news, but don’t think that the war is won. It is not, and there will be many more battles to fight with our treacherous, anti-British government. But at least it does show that we can win battles and perhaps gives clues as to how we win the war.
The High Court ordered that the Bell Hotel must cease housing illegals unless the government obtains planning permission. The ruling was a simple point in planning law: turning a functioning hotel into a state-run hostel for illegal aliens is a material change of use, a change that requires permission from the local planning authority. No such permission was sought.
The Judge, in his judgement, agreed with the council that the change was “significant, substantial, and deliberate.” This wasn’t about a few long-term guests, the building’s entire purpose had been changed. “It was no longer a hotel. It was an institution.”
For decades, the Bell Hotel had been part of the local economy, hosting tourists, wedding parties, and business travellers. That changed when its owner, Somani Hotels (which has two active personnel: Somani, Hassanali Karmali Alibhai and Somani, Nilufa Hassan) entered into a contract with Clearsprings Ready Homes (a company prosecuted by Swindon Council), one of the government’s main asylum housing contractors.
This new arrangement brought security guards posted at entrances, rooms merged into dormitories. Lounge areas were converted into office spaces and no online bookings for the public were accepted. To any reasonable person it was clearly no longer a hotel. Obviously, the Home Office, supposedly in charge of Law and Order, must have known about this but arrogantly dismissed it as a mere detail. In fact, it is now clear that we have a lawless government, more interested in pushing a mythical ‘international law’ than implementing and abiding by the (common) law of the land.
Planning laws have, of course, long been seen as bureaucratic red tape, but Epping’s case proved that they can also be used a weapon. Should you suspect that a hotel or other buildings are about to be used to accommodate illegal aliens, you should identify the change of use, show that it is material (a significant requirement), demand urgent enforcement and press your local council, news media and representatives to try to secure an interim injunction in the High Court freezing the new use until a full case is heard.
By going straight to the High Court, Epping avoided the months-long delays of ordinary enforcement notices. If other councils adopt this approach, and we should do all we can to force them to, the government’s 200-strong plus hotel network, currently housing well over 30,000 illegal aliens, could be dismantled piece by piece.
Epping is, of course, not alone. Across England, people are pushing back against the Home Office’s establishment of colonies of illegal aliens in their communities. Other examples among many are Skegness, Lincolnshire, where five hotels were converted into hostels for illegals without planning permission. The council threatened legal action, but progress stalled allegedly due to cost concerns. Reform has four councillors in Skegness, and we should contact them to find out what is going on.
In Wethersfield, Essex, A disused RAF base was repurposed to house 1,700 asylum seekers. Locals organised protests, citing lack of infrastructure and safety concerns. The site remains controversial and is subject to ongoing legal review. In Knowsley, Merseyside, A hotel used for asylum seekers became the site of violent protests after reports of harassment involving residents. Public anger exploded when the government dismissed these valid concerns as “xenophobia.”
“The anger isn’t isolated. It’s everywhere.”
However, while we support the attack on the government’s policy of using hotels for illegal aliens, we need to watch the State like hawks, as the Establishment will most certainly not do the one thing the people want: deport the lot of them.
A big fear is that, once the hotel system starts collapsing, the government will turn to social housing. Under the Housing Act 1996, most asylum seekers are barred from accessing council housing because they are “persons subject to immigration control.” However, many do not trust the government to keep these protections intact. But changing the law to allow illegal aliens into social housing would require an Act of Parliament which, in the current climate, would obviously create an uproar that could get very nasty. Who knows, it might even trigger a far-right backlash!
And there is plenty to backlash about. According to the government’s own figures, in 2025 339 illegal aliens living in hotels at our expense were charged with serious crimes including rape, robbery, GBH, and theft. That’s roughly one in every hundred illegals in such hotels. And that is those charged, and we know from the example of the illegal who entered a woman’s house in Canary Wharf but was not charged, that the government’s figures will be fiddled. Compare this with the UNODC survey data for England & Wales (2023) that indicated a serious crime rate of just 0.2%, 2 per thousand people,
“They tell us crime is down. We don’t believe them.”
Public opinion is shaped by experience, not dodgy statistics. Many residents report feeling less safe, avoiding areas near the hotels, and believing crime has increased even when police data says otherwise. I know who I believe.
The fact is England’s patience and tolerance has run out. We’ve had enough. From market towns to big cities, protests are growing. And it’s not just about immigration, legal as well as illegal, but about the sense that the government no longer governs for its people.
In response, Westminster appears to be in full panic mode. The police, once trusted by the majority, especially the middle classes, are now seen by many as a state militia intent on shutting down and criminalising dissent. Reports and footage show far-left activists escorted to protests by the police and acting as provocateurs or staging “counter-protests” to frame demonstrators as extremists.
The result is a collapse in public trust, not only in politicians, but in the whole State apparatus.
And then there is the huge financial burden of these illegal aliens on a country just about bankrupt and getting poorer by the day. The migrant hotel system costs the taxpayer at least £8 million per day, over £2.9 billion per year. And this only covers hotel contracts, security staff, catering and maintenance and what is euphemistically termed “Support services” for ‘residents’ i.e. free trips to football games, driving lessons and so on all, of course, a massive inducement to others to cross the channel and sponge off the mugs paying taxes.
And now we hear that in response to the Epping injunction, our dangerously insane government is looking to house illegal aliens in private rental accommodation. Serco, which says it “provides asylum accommodation and support services…. for over 30,000 asylum seekers with a portfolio of more than 7,000 properties” is now advertising for landlords. Just how this will work with the new Renter’s Rights bill due to come into force soon, which makes it impossible to evict tenants, remains to be seen – and it is illegal to let a private property to illegal aliens!
Anyhow, back to Epping’s injunction. If replicated nationally we could save millions, money that could be redirected to housing for British citizens. Epping’s victory shows the fight – and the broader war – can be won. But the war must be fought smartly. We need to learn to use the Epping formula as a blueprint for the long-overdue backlash. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. In other words, watch the State and distrust everything it does as a matter of principle. In regard to the housing of illegal aliens, watch for the change of use of a property. Gather evidence (photos, videos, witness statements). Pressure the council to act. Demonstrate, organise petitions, fly our flag and demand an urgent injunction.
Of course, it’s important to keep protests peaceful and on-message. Frame the fight as local democracy vs. central imposition by an anti-British government. This is about more than hotels. It’s about who we are and our fate as a people. It’s about who the country belong to: the people who live in it, or distant officials – most likely directed by even more distant sinister figures with an altogether sinister agenda – who see towns our as their own playthings, to do with as they see fit.
Epping’s resistance is already inspiring others. If the method spreads, the hotel network could be dismantled quickly. That would be a political earthquake – if we also act to prevent it becoming a Pyrrhic victory and the housing of illegal aliens in council houses or private rented accommodation.
“Epping proves we still have weapons — if we have the will to use them.”
This article (The Epping Hotel Showdown: England at Boiling Point) was created and published by Free Speech Backlash and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Tom Armstrong
See Related Article Below
Wave of protests planned at UK asylum hotels as record claims fuel backlash
CP
Asylum hotels across the UK are set to face a coordinated wave of protests this weekend according to The Times, with organisers planning dozens of demonstrations after a High Court ruling forced the removal of migrants from a site in Essex.
Plans seen by campaigners indicate at least eight protests are scheduled for Friday in Cardiff, Chichester, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Leeds, Orpington, Cheshunt and Altrincham.
A further 14 are expected on Saturday in Hawley, Cannock, Nottingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Tamworth, Wakefield, Liverpool, Oldham, Exeter, Oxford, Perth and Aberdeen, with two more in Manchester and Dudley on Sunday. Additional actions are being lined up next week at hotels in Falkirk, Gloucester and Stockport.
The mobilisation follows a High Court injunction granted to Epping Forest District Council, which halted migrant accommodation at The Bell Hotel after the property was found to be operating without the necessary planning consent for a change of use. The council also cited public safety concerns and the need to remove “the catalyst for violent protests in public places”. The case came after a hotel resident was charged with the sexual assault of a schoolgirl; while many demonstrators remained peaceful, some violence occurred and 16 protesters were charged.
Organised say the protests will be peaceful, however, anti-racism groups are preparing counter-protests and warn of potential disruption comparable to last summer’s riots.
Record claims under Labour
The protests come amid intensifying criticism of the government’s handling of asylum. New figures show 111,000 people claimed asylum in the UK during Keir Starmer’s first year in office, a record high and nearly double the level in 2021. Hotel use has risen 8% in the same period, from 29,585 to 32,059 people, despite Labour’s promises to reduce reliance on hotels.
Ministers say they now intend to accelerate moves to relocate asylum seekers from hotels into disused tower blocks and former student accommodation closer to public services and transport.
Councils weigh legal action
The Epping injunction has prompted a flurry of interest from local authorities. Councils across the country have confirmed they are reviewing the judgment’s implications, with some considering legal routes of their own.
Reform figures urge protests; misinformation flagged
Conservative, Reform and Advance UK figures including Robert Jenrick, Ben Habib, Richard Tice and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage encouraged residents to protest peacefully and press councils to pursue court action to “get the illegal immigrants out”. Organisers of local protests have circulated lists online naming hundreds of hotels. It is understood the government is currently using 210 hotels.
On the ground
Protest groups say they are preparing for “big” turnouts this weekend, though actual attendance remains unclear. Organisers of the “Stand Up Leeds — No To Illegal Migrants” page said they had assembled large quantities of placards and flags for Friday’s event and urged supporters to follow rules of “no masks, no alcohol, no violence”. The Great British National Protest network has been promoting actions with the slogan “For our children, for our future”.
Counter-mobilisations are being coordinated by Stand Up to Racism, whose organiser Lewis Nielsen warned of “the biggest number of far-right demonstrations since the riots last summer”, claiming known fascist activists are involved.
Greater Manchester Police said officers will attend planned events to facilitate peaceful protest, with additional units on standby “in case of any criminality”.
Political stakes for Labour
Labour enters the weekend on the back foot. After pledging to end hotel use, the government has instead overseen record-high claims and a rise in hotel numbers, opening itself to accusations of drift and poor grip on the system. Even Labour-controlled councils are now exploring legal avenues to shut down hotel accommodation locally, a conspicuous vote of no confidence in the centre’s approach. With protests spreading and misinformation about hotel sites proliferating online, ministers face the unenviable task of restoring order to an asylum system that, one year in, looks more expensive, more contentious and less controlled than Labour promised.
This article (Wave of protests planned at UK asylum hotels as record claims fuel backlash) was created and published by Conservative Post and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author CP
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