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Wandsworth ends sanctuary initiative as panel disputes its role in integration

The council's withdrawal prompts opposing arguments about local spending, national immigration powers and support for refugees learning English.

Channel: GBNews ·

United KingdomStory of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

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'VICTORY FOR BRITS OVER MIGRANTS!': Patrick Christys PRAISES council for scrapping refugee scheme

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00Christys welcomes Wandsworth's withdrawal from the Borough of Sanctuary initiative and urges other councils to follow.
1:45Archive footage contrasts Hogg's questioning of the withdrawal with Morritt's opposition to the initiative.
3:09Christys cites City of Sanctuary UK's annual review on growing participation by schools and higher education.
5:49Berry argues councils should prioritize streets and housing, leaving immigration policy to national government.
7:33Butterworth argues sanctuary support helps refugees integrate through English learning and access to work.

Helping refugees learn English and find work is part of integration, political commentator Benjamin Butterworth argues. Reform UK member Sir Jake Berry offers a different priority for councils: clean streets and housing for people on local waiting lists.

Their exchange follows Wandsworth Council's decision to end its "Borough of Sanctuary" initiative for refugees and asylum seekers, according to the United Kingdom's GB News. Presenter Patrick Christys welcomes the withdrawal and urges other councils to follow it.

Wandsworth is run by a Conservative minority administration following the 2026 local election, which left no party with overall control. In archive footage, Labour group leader Simon Hogg questions the abandonment of the commitment. Council leader Robert Morritt rejects the initiative as ideological, saying: "I don't support Borough of Sanctuary, and I never have done."

Christys broadens the discussion beyond the London borough. He displays a map of participating areas across Britain, plays a Welsh Refugee Council promotional film featuring schoolchildren and cites City of Sanctuary UK's annual review on participation by schools and universities. He criticizes support such as gym passes, laptops and scholarships, then raises council grants for refugee programs alongside rising local taxes.

Those examples form his argument against the wider sanctuary movement; they are not presented as a detailed account of every service Wandsworth's decision will end.

Berry argues that councils should concentrate on their core services rather than pursue immigration policies of their own. "Immigration policy is the preserve of national government and national government alone," he says.

Butterworth disputes the premise that sanctuary support conflicts with integration. He argues that helping vulnerable people learn English and enter the workforce makes it easier for them to participate in society. The discussion thus turns on what the initiative does locally, not simply who controls the country's borders.

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