The asylum system in the United Kingdom is once again at the heart of political contestation, and for good reason. Thousands of people fleeing war, persecution, or poverty continue to arrive, while thousands more remain stranded in hotels at the taxpayers’ expense as they await decisions on their cases. The government’s latest proposal, to establish a new panel of independent adjudicators to handle asylum appeals, may sound like a pragmatic step to ease bottlenecks.

Yet the deeper issue is not just the speed of appeals, but the quality of decisions made at the very start of the process. The scale of the problem is undeniable. Appeals currently take, on average, more than a year to be resolved, and tens of thousands of applicants remain in limbo. During this time, local communities face mounting tensions as hotels become flashpoints for protest and counter-protest. Councils are resorting to legal action,........

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