Residents of Grantham, the Lincolnshire market town where Margaret Thatcher was born, have reacted angrily to around 70 properties across the South Kesteven district being bought up and converted into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) to accommodate asylum seekers moved out of hotels. The issue matters because it reflects wider tensions over the Government's policy of ending the use of hotels for asylum accommodation, and the local impact this is having on a town of just under 45,000 people.

A senior official at South Kesteven District Council said councillors had been told to expect 300 asylum seekers, but that this figure had already been surpassed, with most of the acquired buildings located in Grantham. The council said it had secured a 'temporary pause' after complaining to the Government. The relocations are being carried out through the private contractor Serco, which is purchasing smaller properties as alternative accommodation. Residents accused 'greedy landlords' of profiting, said the town had taken 'more than its fair share', and criticised Sir Keir Starmer, whose Labour government has pledged to move all asylum seekers out of hotels by the end of this Parliament.