A Glasgow MP has asked the UK Government to halt housing asylum seekers in the city due to “unsustainable pressure” on local services.
Dr Zubir Ahmed, MP for Glasgow South West, has written to home secretary Shabana Mahmood, warning that the city needs some “breathing space” after doing its fair share in housing asylum seekers.
According to recent government data, Glasgow has the highest number of Home Office-assisted asylum seekers in the UK at 3,938.
The figure is much higher than Birmingham at 2,136, Liverpool at 1,961 and Coventry at 1,700.
This has led to added pressure on local services as well as protests from anti-immigration groups.
Dr Ahmed wants other council areas to do more to help house asylum seekers, citing the continuing housing emergency in Glasgow as an issue.
Earlier, Prime Minister Andy Burham said that he wanted to provide a “circuit breaker” for councils, something Ahmed believes Glasgow is in desperate need of.
He said: “The people I represent are not asking Glasgow to close its doors. They are asking why the same communities are continually expected to carry more.
“We should be able to say two things at once: that refugees deserve safety and dignity and communities carrying the greatest pressure deserve fairness.
“Glasgow has done more than its fair share and people can see the pressure on housing in their own communities.
“I’m asking for a temporary circuit break so the city gets some breathing space, while the Home Office spreads asylum accommodation more fairly and the Scottish Government looks again at rules that are drawing people into an already overstretched housing system.
“Glasgow will always be a welcoming city, but that welcome has to be sustainable and people who have waited years for a home deserve to know the system is fair.”
Ahmed is also calling for the reintroduction of the local connection rule, which was scrapped in 2022 but remains active in England and Wales.
The Conservatives and Reform have also called for the rule to be reinstated.
It means that an asylum seeker in Scotland can make a homelessness application to any local authority without having a local connection, such as a job or family nearby.
Ahmed has also written to the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council to voice his concerns.
Refugee charities say halting asylum dispersal will not end Glasgow’s housing crisis.
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