Glasgow is spending £4.5 million of hard-earned taxpayers’ money each month to foot the bill for migrant accommodation. The number of asylum seekers in the Scottish city has soared in recent years, with 2,544 living in accommodation – up from 849 in 2023. Local residents have taken to the streets in protests, with both anti-migrant-hotel demonstrations and Stand Up To Racism protests taking place outside of the hotels.

The number of asylum seekers is now larger than the number of native homeless people in Glasgow. Of the 1,795 homeless people living in funded accommodation, three-quarters are asylum seekers, and a further 1,204 migrants are living in properties run by housing groups. The sky-high cost of housing asylum seekers in the city has tripled between February 2023 and now, The Sun reports.

2,544 migrants live in taxpayer-funded accommodation in Glasgow. (Image: Getty)

Protesters and counter-demonstrators have staged protests outside of migrant hotels. (Image: Getty)

City Tory MSP Annie Wells told the newspaper: “Glasgow is already in the grip of a housing emergency due to SNP budget cuts — it can’t continue to absorb refugees at this rate without an urgent policy and funding change.

“Glaswegians have had to cope with pothole-ridden roads, filthy streets and crumbling services. They should not have to keep paying more while getting less.”

A council spokesman added: “More than 44 per cent of all homeless presentations are from refugees, but the UK Government does not provide the city with any resources to meet their needs.”

Glasgow only has around 2,600 properties designated for temporary accommodation, meaning the city is almost at maximum capacity due to the 2,544 migrants living there.

Protests have taken place outside of the former Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk where around 600 locals turned up to oppose the housing of migrants. Chants of “stop the boats” and “send them home” were heard, as they waved Scottish and Union Jack flags.

At the same time, around 300 counter protesters turned up shouting “Nazi scum off our streets” and “refugees are welcome here” – chants that have been hard at the majority of protests across the UK.

The UK Government said: “We are working to give councils as much notice as possible of newly recognised refugees and have mobilised liaison officers to support asylum seekers in Glasgow.”

The Scottish Government said: “We support the call that the UK Government must provide adequate funding to support refugees.”