Bowthorpe chooses to stand by refugees but far right just behind

The Green Party’s Amber Smith has been victorious in Bowthorpe, Norwich, as she is elected councillor for the embattled area. This win comes as a particular relief when we remember the area has seen numerous far-right protests targeting the Brook Hotel, which used to provide accommodation for refugees seeking safety.

After facing months of protests, the hotel announced it was closing in April after functioning as a place of safety for asylum seekers and refugees since September 2022. The Home Office has apparently confirmed it will not be used to house migrants any longer. This comes after last summer saw regular protests, and counter protests, outside the hotel with reports of hundreds of people attending.

Nevertheless, this result highlights how Bowthorpe, despite the deliberate whipping up by the far right to cause division in our communities, chose to stand by refugees at the ballot box. However, Reform UK was just 86 votes behind which signals just how divided and polarised it has become for the local community.

Reform may have lost here today, but it really is just by a fraction, and Smith will likely have her hands full trying to bridge the local divides.

 

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Asylum hotels used to whip up hate

Farage and billionaire-funded Reform UK, aided by far-right, profit-seeking thugs like Tommy Robinson, have made their success by appealing to politics of envy, vengeance and vindication. Targeting some of the most vulnerable people in the UK, asylum seekers fleeing deprivation and war, they have sought to convince people that it is those with the least who are destroying the quality of life in our communities.

Instead of focusing on real solutions like local investment and actually valuing the contributions ordinary people make to society, Nigel Farage and his cronies have blamed Home Office spending on asylum hotels for the country’s financial pressures.

Of course, he will not point out that privatisation has turned the state itself into a renter – and, as millions of private tenants already know, billionaire landlords constantly find new ways to drive prices higher. As a result, taxpayers shoulder ever-growing costs while the super-rich profit handsomely from this tidy arrangement.

In this abysmal class war that ordinary people seem permanently trapped within, the super-rich continue to engineer a system where they win at every turn.

In a much-needed ray of hope, it appears Polanski’s politics of hope and solidarity are beating the MSM and billionaire-pushed rhetoric of hate and division in even the most polarised of areas.

Phew. My ward for Norfolk County Council has gone Green! 💚 Beating Reform by 86 votes.

Now to wait to see if Amber replicates this success in the City Council results. pic.twitter.com/BJTjJDNkOM

— D🏳️‍🌈 (@D3_S96) May 8, 2026

This isn’t the first time it has been a close call either, with this vote last year:

By a single vote, Labour has defeated Reform in the Bowthorpe ward in Norwich pic.twitter.com/BMJNs18qYi

— Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ (@LeftieStats) May 1, 2025

Close call – the Green Party will need to bring the community together

Electing a Green councillor could prove a real strength for the Bowthorpe community, particularly at a time when the area feels so deeply polarised. Reform UK and too many politicians inflame division and exploit social tensions for political gain rather than helping communities heal and rebuild trust.

Smith and the Greens now face a significant challenge. They must work to lower tensions, break down barriers within the community, and push back against the fear and misunderstanding that dominate so much political debate.

Supporters will also expect them to focus attention on the wider economic and political pressures affecting working people – including deepening inequality, corporate power, ever-declining public services, and the spread of disinformation – rather than allowing public anger to focus solely on migrants and refugees.

We wish Smith all the best as she works to help people recognise where the real threats to their livelihoods, freedoms, and communities truly lie.

Featured image via Green Party Norwich