‘Simmering’ division in town where hotel for asylum seekers is beacon for unrest
In Altrincham near Manchester, two opposing groups have gathered to throw insults at each other across the A56.
“Fascists! Racists!” shouts one lot.
On the opposing verge, they shout back: “Shame on you!”
Then both sides chant: “Whose streets? Our streets!”
Cars flash between them, some adding hoots to the noise.
It’s 5pm on Sunday and much of the nation is united watching the Lionesses in the Euro finals.
Yet here is a dual carriageway of division formed in front of what has become a beacon for unrest – a hotel housing asylum seekers.
Anti-migration protesters opposite the hotel in Altrincham
Counter-protesters show their support for the refugees
Sky News has been testing the mood in Altrincham since locals were first informed last November that the Cresta Court Hotel was being repurposed from accommodating short business stays and local events into lodgings for hundreds of male asylum seekers who crossed the Channel on small boats.
Over the course of eight months there have been angry town meetings, regular low-level protests and last Sunday around 80 people from each side turned up outside the hotel with banners, flags and loudspeakers.
“We stopped the Germans, why can’t we stop dinghies,” says local man Dave Haydock under a St George’s cross cap.
“We’re paying for them to be in there and there’s British people out on the streets,” added local businessman Steve, who is waving a Union Flag. “They’re not fleeing a war to come to Britain – they’re coming from France – they are coming because of all the benefits – and everyone in the UK now knows that.”
Dave Haydock speak to Sky’s Jason Farrell
The demonstrators on either side of the A56
Cost, benefits and risk to women are recurring themes.
“These people coming over without any documentation,” says local Clare Jones as she points in the direction of two schools. “I’m not a racist. I’m just a concerned mum. I don’t feel safe in my own community.”
A man behind a mask who didn’t want to appear on camera says the media “sneers” at these protests because the media is middle class and “this is a working-class movement”.
Altrincham is one of Manchester’s most affluent towns, but there are much poorer areas close by.
The social demographic at the protests was mixed.
On either side of the A56 I met business owners, nurses, teachers and pensioners.
Both groups were also largely made up of locals.
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A handful of social media “professional” protesters also turned up, pointing cameras at anything they could film – making selfie videos for their TikTok and YouTube followers.
A small line of police officers was in place to keep the peace.
The counter-protesters forming a line to protect the hotel. Described as “lefties” by the anti-migrant demonstrators, the counter-protesters feel that the people opposite are either “far right, fascists” or “being manipulated by the far right”.
Altrincham resident Alison O’Connell said “this is very frightening” as she pointed at the anti-migrant demonstrators. “We are just here to show support for the refugees in the hotel,” she added.
Alison O’Connell
Counter-protester Steph Phoenix said: “Knowing personally people in the hotels, I know they are not coming for our money. These people are desperate. They don’t come over for a laugh, they are coming over because they are escaping something terrible in their own country.”
Nahella Ashraf, co-chair of Greater Manchester Stand Up To Racism, said: “There needs to be an honest conversation about what the problems are in society. Refugees are not to blame. People are worried about the cost of living crisis, but it’s not caused by refugees. By housing people in these hotels, we’ve not taken accommodation away from anyone in Britain.”
Steph Phoenix, right, says the asylum seekers are ‘desperate’
Migrants disappeared into their rooms during the protest, some peering out of their bedroom windows.
Their voices are rarely heard in this debate.
The next day, hotel security advised them not to talk to us.
Those we did speak to all had stories of fleeing instability and threat. Some had just arrived, others had been here months.
Many were anxious about the protests, but equally not put off from their decision to come.
One said he had recently told a local who had been abusive: “I struggled to get here. It was just luck you were born here.”
The fears of increased crime expressed by residents in November don’t appear to have transpired. But Conservative councillor Nathan Evans, who called the first town meeting, says groups of men in the park, men praying in the public library and warning letters from schools to parents about groups of men near the school gates have all caused “an unease across the town”. He says he has warned the police of a “simmering issue”.
Protesters on either side don’t agree on much but both see the hotel as a symbol of broken promises from successive governments – a failure to manage migration in a way that doesn’t inflame communities. What remains is anger.
Managing and containing that anger is a growing challenge.
The UK lacks a national plan to defend itself from attack and is moving at a “glacial” pace to fix the problem despite threats from Russia and China, a report by MPs has warned.
With the whole country needing to understand what it means to be ready for war, the Defence Select Committee also said it had seen no sign of a promised “national conversation on defence and security” that was launched by Sir Keir Starmer in June.
Sky News and other journalists were even blocked on Monday from interviewing sailors aboard HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, in direct contrast to the prime minister’s stated aim of greater engagement.
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales. File pic: AP
Public needs to know ‘what to expect’ from war
“We have repeatedly heard concerns about the UK’s ability to defend itself from attack,” said Labour MP Tan Dhesi, chair of the committee.
“Government must be willing to grasp the nettle and prioritise homeland defence and resilience.
“In achieving this, government cannot shy away from direct engagement with the public.
“Wars aren’t won just by generals, but by the whole of the population getting behind the Armed Forces and playing our part.
“There needs to be a co-ordinated effort to communicate with the public on the level of threat we face and what to expect in the event of conflict.”
The Royal Navy tracked a Russian submarine in UK waters last month. Pic: Royal Navy/MOD
‘The Wargame’ made real?
The findings of the report support a podcast series by Sky News and Tortoise Media called The Wargame – released in June.
It simulated a Russian attack on the UK and played out what the impact might be for the country in the absence of a credible, resourced and rehearsed national defence plan – something Britain maintained rigorously during the Cold War.
Sky News first revealed in April 2024 that the previous government no longer had such a plan, though work was under way to develop one.
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Flagship aircraft carrier to be placed under NATO command
Report’s assessment of war-readiness
The Defence Select Committee report – based on a nearly year-long inquiry – found: “The UK lacks a plan for defending the homeland and overseas territories with little progress on the Home Defence Programme.”
It said this meant the government was failing to meet a fundamental commitment to the NATO alliance – the Article 3 requirement to maintain the “capacity to resist armed attack”.
The report quoted Luke Pollard, a defence minister, acknowledging that “we have been very clear that we are not satisfied with Article 3 in the UK”.
Britain’s new Ajax fighting vehicle, which arrived overdue and at great financial cost. Pic: PA
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Yet the MPs’ report added: “Despite this recognition from government… measures to remediate seem to be moving at a glacial pace.”
It said: “Cross-government working on homeland defence and resilience is nowhere near where it needs to be. The government has said repeatedly that we are in an era of new threat, yet decision-making is slow and opaque.”
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The rebuke from the MPs was published as John Healey, the defence secretary, prepares to announce that 13 sites across the UK have been identified as possible locations for at least six new weapons factories.
“This is a new era of threat,” he will say at a speech in Westminster later.
“We are making defence an engine for growth, unambiguously backing British jobs and British skills as we make the UK better ready to fight and better able to deter future conflicts.
“This is the path that delivers national and economic security.”
Industry will be invited to submit proposals to produce ammunition and explosives, with the Ministry of Defence saying it hopes work on the first factory will begin next year.
Scotland secured a place at the men’s World Cup for the first time since 1998 as stoppage-time goals by Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean secured a thrilling 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden Park.
Scott McTominay’s spectacular third-minute bicycle kick had given the hosts a half-time lead.
Rasmus Hojlund equalised for the Danes in the 57th minute shortly before Rasmus Kristensen was sent off, but Lawrence Shankland restored Scotland’s advantage.
When Patrick Dorgu brought Denmark level again with nine minutes remaining, it seemed they would claim the point needed to top the group and book their place at next year’s tournament in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
However, Tierney fired an unstoppable shot past Kasper Schmeichel in the third minute of stoppage time
And then, with the Denmark goalkeeper up in attack at the other end of the pitch, McLean hit a long-range effort from his own half to spark delirious scenes.
Scotland’s Kenny McLean celebrates scoring his side’s fourth goal against Denmark. Pic: PA
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The victory saw Scotland top Group C and secure automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Head coach Steve Clarke had already led his country to back-to-back European Championships.
He told the BBC: “Scott McTominay scored the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen, and it might not have been the best goal of the night!”
Scott McTominay celebrates scoring the opening goal for Scotland. Pic: Reuters
Scotland captain Andy Robertson dedicated the victory to his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota, who died earlier this year in a car accident.
He told the BBC: “We certainly put the country through it, but I’m sure it will be worth it.”
“I couldn’t get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today,” he added. We spoke so much together about the World Cup. When he missed out in Qatar through injury and I missed out when Scotland never went.
“We always discussed what it would be like going to this World Cup. I know he’ll be somewhere smiling over me tonight.”
The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on 5 December.
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