Zia Yusuf and Robert Jenrick publicly clash over Reform’s immigration policy
Reform UK has been accused of 'making it up as they go along'
Zia Yusuf has publicly slapped down Robert Jenrick after he said that a Reform government would not deport foreign nationals who are legally residing in the UK and living in social housing.
On Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Jenrick said that migrants would not be deported exclusively for living in social housing.
Jenrick said that if the person failed to meet other criteria, such as if they were not working or earning enough, then they would not be able to renew their visa and would be deported.
Phillips responded: “So you don’t agree with all of Restore’s policies?”.
Rupert Lowe’s hard-right party, Restore Britain, has a policy to deport legally resident foreign nationals if they are “unable to speak English, live in social housing, claims benefits, refuses to work, fails to integrate, commits crime or actively hates our way of life and wishes to do us harm”.
Online, Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, publicly disagreed with Jenrick’s comments.
Yesterday, Yusuf wrote on X: “Robert’s answer is not Reform policy.”
He added: “If a foreign national lives in social housing at taxpayer expense, they automatically fail our economic test and will be deported.”
While the right claims that migrants take social housing from British nationals, in reality, asylum seekers and people who come to the UK on work or study visas have ‘no recourse to public funds’ and can’t access benefits or state-funded housing.
Refugees do have recourse to public funds once they have refugee status, but the UK provides safety to around 515,000 refugees, which only accounts for around 0.76% of the overall population.
Labour MP and immigration minister Mike Tapp told the Mirror that Yusuf and Jenrick’s public row over their immigration policy shows Reform UK is “making it up as they go along”.
He said: “While Reform fight amongst themselves, with no serious plan or agreement on what they actually stand for, this Labour government is getting on with delivering for working people.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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