Protest on a Tameside Street Over Asylum-Seeker HMOs

On a rainy Saturday afternoon in Tameside, Greater Manchester, a man with a loudspeaker led a crowd in chants such as “Don’t unpack, you’re going back” and “deport the f**king lot.” The protest targeted a quiet residential street where, according to a local councillor’s Facebook post, seven of the 207 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licences in the borough are held by Serco – the firm that runs a 10-year, >£1 billion Home Office contract to house asylum seekers. Residents described the scene as “frightening” and “intimidating,” while police intervened to keep order. The demonstration ended without further incident.

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HMOs have become a focal point for asylum-seeker accommodation as the government shifts away from hotels. Serco has managed the Tameside properties for more than a decade. Nationwide, the number of people living in “dispersal accommodation” – typically HMOs – was about 70,000 as of June, according to the i Paper analysis. The “North-South divide” is stark: Wigan hosts roughly 1,183 asylum seekers in HMOs (one per 278 residents), whereas Surrey has about 240 (one per 5,000 residents). Experts link the rise in HMOs to broader housing-market pressures, while political rhetoric from Reform UK and Labour’s reduction of hotel use have amplified community tensions.

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Residents on the street expressed no support for the protest. A woman in her seventies called it “frightening,” and a young mother said the chants were “scary.” A Muslim woman reported that neighbours warned her not to leave the house for fear of being targeted because of her ethnicity. Several long-time locals voiced concern that women and children inside the HMOs would have been terrified by the unrest.

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Councillor Jake Frater, elected for Reform UK, said he seeks answers for residents and highlighted long housing waiting lists in the area. He argued that new asylum-seeker placements exacerbate an already strained local housing market. A Home Office spokesperson added that community concerns are “central to our immigration reforms” and that the government has saved taxpayers over £1 billion on asylum support costs since the election.

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• “Residents deserve answers, and I intend to get them,” — Jake Frater, after local councillor

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• “I’m dealing with residents at the minute that have been on waiting lists for years already, bidding for properties,” — Jake Frater, after local councillor

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• “We work under the direction of the Home Office, who decide where people are placed, based on overall national demand.” — Serco spokesperson

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