Elon Musk endorses Advance UK following Epping asylum ruling - but what is it?

Even though Tesla boss Elon Musk left US president Donald Trump’s administration and the Department of Government Efficiency back in May, the billionaire is still very much in the political arena, as he has once again turned his attention to UK politics – this time focusing on this week’s ruling from the Court of Appeal around a hotel for asylum seekers in Epping.

Earlier this month, the Essex council applied to the High Court for an injunction to stop asylum seekers from being housed at The Bell Hotel – which has been the subject of protests and demonstrations in recent weeks – arguing that the site has become a “feeding ground for unrest”.

That application from Epping Forest District Council was successful, with the court issuing an interim injunction on 19 August and gave the deadline of 12 September for asylum seekers to be moved out of The Bell Hotel, run by Somani Hotels Limited.

However, Yvette Cooper’s Home Office went on to appeal the decision. It won, the ban was revoked by Court of Appeal judges, and it’s this latest ruling which has left Musk unhappy.

What did the Court of Appeal say about the Epping asylum hotel case?

In a summary of the full ruling, published on Friday, Lord Justice Bean, Lady Justice Nicola Davies and Lord Justice Cobb write: “The risk of injustice to the residents of the Hotel by being dispersed by 12 September, when the trial of the claim was to take place only some six weeks later, seems to have had oddly little resonance with the [original] judge.

“The Epping residents’ fear of crime was properly taken into account by the judge as a factor in favour of the grant of an injunction; he described it as being of limited weight … We agree that it is relevant, but in our view it is clearly outweighed … by the undesirability of incentivising protests, by the desirability in the interests of justice of preserving the status quo for the relatively brief period leading up to the forthcoming trial, and by the range of public interest factors which we have discussed in our judgment.”

Reacting to this judgment, asylum minister Dame Angela Eagle said it appealed the initial ruling “so hotels like the Bell can be exited in a controlled and orderly way” as it looks to close all asylum hotels by the end of the current parliament.

“It will take some time to fix the broken system we inherited, but the British public deserve nothing less, and we will not stop until the job is done,” she said.

Meanwhile, Epping Forest District Council said it was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome.

“While Epping Forest has brought the wider asylum seeker debate into sharp national focus, the concern and motivation of Epping Forest District Council throughout has been the wellbeing of our local residents. Where we had clarity and resolution, we now have doubt and confusion,” it said.

The council went on to add that its “battle on behalf of our residents will continue” when the court considers the case for the full injunction in “a few weeks”.

What is Elon Musk’s reaction to the Epping asylum hotel ruling?

In the run-up to the Court of Appeal ruling, Musk took to his Twitter/X platform to brand the UK Government “a government against its people”.

Following the Home Office’s victory in court, the tech entrepreneur wrote “as goes Epping, so goes all of England” and warned that “a nation with a government against its people shall perish from the Earth”.

He expressed agreement with another tweeter who said “the British government has declared war against the British people”, and urged people in Britain and Ireland to “rally NOW to save your beautiful countries”.

“It’s now or never. Fight, fight, fight! Soon, it will be too late,” he posted.

A similar sentiment was shared by Musk on Saturday morning (UK time), when he wrote: “The nightmare happening to Epping and hundreds of other towns in Britain and Ireland will come to your town too, unless it is stopped by the people.”

He also voiced support for the political party Advance UK, calling on people to “join advance to save Britain”.

What is Advance UK?

The political party was set up by Ben Habib, who was deputy leader of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK until he was replaced by Richard Tice in July last year.

At the time, Habib said he had “long held concerns about the control of the party and the decision making processes”. Now, Advance UK says Reform UK “has no settled political philosophy” and “stands for nothing other than the pursuit of power”.

“Reform does not believe in democracy. Farage is Reform and Reform is Farage. Advance UK’s constitution is entirely democratic.

“Reform does not believe in free speech. It polices its members views and habitually throws people out of the party for what they have tweeted. Advance UK does not police its members. We must be judged by our policies, not the views of our members,” it says.

On immigration, Advance UK claims “borders have been dismantled” and that “mass migration is eroding our culture and destroying our economy”.

Its mission statement reads: “We stand for nation, freedom, democracy and equality under the law.

“The Government should serve the British people and be accountable to them.

“There can be no dilution of the Government’s ability to discharge this obligation, and the people’s ability to hold them to account, by membership of international bodies, the entering into of international bodies, international law and domestic quangos.”

The party has not yet applied to the Electoral Commission for full party status.

This is not the first time Musk has commented on UK politics, as at the start of the year he took to Twitter/X to speak out against grooming gangs and demand the release of Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) who was in prison at the time for contempt of court - something which placed Musk at odds with Farage.

This led to Musk stating Reform UK "needs a new leader", arguing that Farage "doesn't have what it takes".

Farage replied: "My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles."

Why not read…

• Two 'priceless' business lessons from Elon Musk everyone should learn
• Elon Musk reminded he got climate change denier elected after sun rant

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