Dame Nia Griffiths MP and Lee Waters MS issue call for calm over Stradey Park Hotel situation

LLANELLI’s MP, Nia Griffith, and Senedd Member, Lee Waters, have issued a call for calm as the Conservative UK Government’s use of the Stradey Park Hotel to house asylum seekers continues to generate strong opposition in the town.

In recent days, protesters have been congregating outside the hotel itself in an attempt to prevent the plan going ahead, together with a visible police presence locally on the ground.  There has been increasingly hostile comment on social media about the situation, which has also seen the developing story covered widely by Welsh and UK media outlets.

Nia Griffith MP said:

“People are justifiably upset about the way that Tory Ministers in Westminster, Clearsprings and the hotel’s owners have treated our town and ridden roughshod over public opinion locally.  Along with Lee, local councillors and many residents, I have vigorously opposed this proposal and will continue to do so.

This is a not a decision that we would make nor have we had any involvement in it coming to fruition.  Any blame lies full square with a Tory Government, not with anyone locally nor with the asylum seekers themselves.  The Tories have had 13 years in power to sort things out and completely failed to do so.  This is their decision alone and they should own it.”

However, as the profile of the campaign has increased, fears have been expressed that far right groups from outside of Llanelli have joined in to use the situation as a recruitment exercise and to peddle their own hateful views to a wider audience.

Nia Griffith MP commented:

“In the last few weeks, it seems that several individuals and groups who beforehand had little interest in Llanelli are now cynically manipulating the town for their own ends. All this does is fundamentally undermine the voices of local people who will still be here long after they have gone elsewhere.  It is important now, more than ever, that the campaign stays within the boundaries of what is morally and legally acceptable too. Llanelli has a proud record of welcoming refugee families through the Welsh Government dispersal programme.”

Lee Waters MS agreed:

“The Tory Home Office are doing this to communities right across the country because they have failed to deal with a backlog of claims. They refuse to listen and won’t engage, and that’s making people feel powerless and angry. And there are right-wing groups who have come here to try and exploit that. Our community must stay together and not be divided by people who don’t care about Llanelli.”

“These situations often bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. There is a better way to deal with this if the Home Office is willing to pause and work with the Council and the Welsh Government. It is not too late.”