A Broken Westminster Asylum System is Failing People – Scotland Can Show a Better Way
This week’s debate in the Scottish Parliament on asylum accommodation laid bare a truth many already know: Westminster has failed utterly in its responsibility to manage the asylum system with fairness, dignity, and compassion.
Asylum is a reserved matter. The UK Government controls the rules, the processing, and the accommodation system. Yet after fourteen years of Conservative rule, we were left with a staggering backlog of claims, people forced into hotels for months or years on end, and local authorities—especially in Glasgow—left struggling to pick up the pieces without proper support.
This is not accidental. It is the direct result of policy choices. The Tory obsession with creating a “hostile environment” has meant restricting people’s right to work, slashing support, and deliberately fostering division. The consequence has been a toxic mix of human misery and political scapegoating. We’ve even seen rising hate crimes and intimidation at hotels housing asylum seekers—fuelled by inflammatory rhetoric from those who should know better.
And here lies the irony: the very politicians who created this mess are now attempting to reinvent themselves under the banner of Reform UK. These are the same actors who presided over the collapse of the system in the first place, and yet they have the audacity to pretend they hold the solutions. Frankly, they must think people button up the back. The public can see through this hypocrisy—those responsible for breaking the system cannot credibly present themselves as its saviours.
Let us be clear: seeking asylum is not illegal. The UK is bound by international law—through the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol—to protect those fleeing war, persecution, and danger. That is a legal duty as well as a moral one.
Scotland has always taken a different path. From the Irish and Italians of the past to Ukrainians today, we know that refugees bring skills, culture, and new energy to our communities. Our nation is richer for it. And with Scotland’s ageing population, the economic case for allowing asylum seekers to work is obvious. Doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs are currently left idle in hotels on less than £10 a week while our NHS and local businesses face severe staff shortages. It makes no sense.
There is a better way forward:
Process claims quickly so that people are not left in limbo.
Allow asylum seekers to work while they wait, letting them contribute and live with dignity.
Provide safe and legal routes to claim asylum, breaking the business model of the criminal gangs who profit from dangerous Channel crossings.
Support councils properly instead of funnelling taxpayers’ money into the pockets of private contractors.
Every country needs an asylum policy—but it should be one based on fairness and humanity, not fearmongering. Scotland has shown that we can build welcoming communities where everyone has the chance to belong. It is time Westminster caught up.
Because when we reduce people to headlines and statistics, we diminish ourselves. But when we uphold dignity, respect, and compassion, we strengthen the fabric of our society.
That is the choice before us. And it is one Scotland must not turn away from. With independence we will have control over our own policy on Asylum Seekers, on refugees and on all aspects of immigration.
