Cllr Amjid Ali calls shadow minister Blake Stephenson's no-go zones claim about Luton 'completely untrue'. What the council said, and who Mr Stephenson is.

The leader of Luton Council has said there are no “no-go zones” in the town. Cllr Amjid Ali was responding to comments about Luton made this week by Blake Stephenson, a Conservative shadow minister.

In a statement published by the council on Tuesday 6 October, Cllr Ali said Mr Stephenson’s comments were “simply unacceptable”.

“They are also completely untrue and do a disservice to the people who live and work in our town,” he said. “There are no ‘no-go zones’ in Luton where white people cannot or will not go.”

Updated 8 October: Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner has also responded. In a statement published on 6 October, the PCC said: “I am deeply disappointed and angered by the comments attributed to Rt Hon Blake Stephenson, suggesting that there are ‘no-go zones’ in Luton where ‘white people won’t go’.”

Updated 11 October: the Bishop of Bedford, the Rt Revd Richard Atkinson, has written to Mr Stephenson as well. In a letter dated 6 October and published by the Diocese of St Albans, he expressed “profound disagreement with, and concern at” the comments. He said Luton’s inter-community and inter-faith work, in partnership with the police and the council, “is often an exemplar for others”.

What the council leader said

Cllr Ali, who became leader in September, opened the statement by calling Luton “a town I am incredibly proud to call home”.

He said the picture Mr Stephenson painted “is not the Luton I know, it is not the Luton our residents know, and it is not supported by the facts.”

The statement makes three further points:

  • what defines Luton is its people, their “kindness”, “resilience” and “ambition”
  • the council wants to celebrate a town “where people from every background can belong, contribute and take pride in the place they call home”, under the #WeAreLuton banner
  • attempts to portray the town “in a way that bears no resemblance to the Luton experienced by the people who live here” should be challenged

It ends: “We are Luton. We are proud of Luton. And we will continue to stand together.”

Who Blake Stephenson is

Mr Stephenson is the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, the constituency that borders Luton to the north. He is not a Luton MP.

Parliament’s record of his career shows he was appointed a Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Home Office on 31 August 2026. He also became an Opposition Assistant Whip on the same day. The Home Office brief covers policing and immigration.

Luton is represented by two Labour MPs: Sarah Owen in Luton North and Rachel Hopkins in Luton South and South Bedfordshire.

We have not found a statement from Mr Stephenson on his own channels expanding on or withdrawing the remarks. If he issues one, we will add it to this page. He can be contacted through his parliamentary office at blake.stephenson.mp@parliament.uk.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes in council services. This is a political row, not a policy decision. Bins, schools and roads carry on as normal.
  • If you want to make your view known, the people who represent Luton at Westminster are Sarah Owen and Rachel Hopkins. Mr Stephenson can be contacted at the parliamentary address above.
  • If you experience or witness abuse because of race or religion, report it to Bedfordshire Police on 101, or 999 in an emergency. You can also report hate crime online, anonymously if you prefer, through True Vision, the police-funded reporting service.

For more on how the town is run, see our pages on Luton’s council tax bands and bin collection days.