Bid for asylum hotel consultations knocked back

The motion was rejected with 28 votes against, eight in favour and five abstentions

A bid to stop hotels in a Surrey borough being used to house migrants without residents being consulted has been knocked back after councillors argued they should not get involved with national politics.

At a full council meeting on Wednesday, Conservative group leader John Cope put forward the motion to Elmbridge Borough Council and asked for regular updates on how the authority could challenge such plans.

Cope said: "Britain is at its best when it is outward looking […] but the last few years has put that under enormous tensions."

Liberal Democrat councillor Nick Dodds called the plan a "political stunt", adding: "Where does Councillor Cope think these migrants should go? On the streets?"

Conservative councillor Andrew Burley said: "It is, I hope, evident to everybody in this room that this motion is in the wider public interest."

Councillor Alex Batchelor, from the Thames Ditton and West Green Residents Association, said: "What you are effectively asking the council to do is to spend money on a hypothetical situation which we will be notified of anyway."

He also reminded members that Epping Forest Council in Essex had already failed in its legal challenge to the Home Office about asylum hotels, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Liberal Democrat council leader Mike Rollings said Elmbridge should not get dragged into a national row.

Cope is the region's Conservative leader

He added: "The council believes that every member of the community deserves to feel safe, valued and heard.

"It is recognised that symbols could carry different meanings to different people, and it is the responsibility of this council not to divide the community."

Ahead of the vote, Cope said: "You cannot dismiss legitimate concerns from residents about immigration and the impact it has on their borough."

The motion was rejected with 28 votes against, eight in favour and five abstentions.