Nigel Farage condemned for “racist and morally wrong” pledge to evict non-UK nationals from social housing
'Reform UK won’t build more council housing… They will attempt to blame ‘foreign nationals’ for the housing crisis.'
Nigel Farage has been condemned for saying that he would evict non-UK nationals from social housing and force them to find private rented accommodation or face deportation.
In a bid to tempt those considering voting for Restore Britain ahead of the Makerfield by-election this Thursday, Farage adopted the hardline policy that Rupert Lowe has already committed to.
On his new Substack account, the Reform leader said his party would give non-UK nationals three months to find private rented accommodation or be deported from the country.
Farage vowed that “veterans and long-term local residents will be preferenced for social housing” if he were in power.
His party has also pledged to abolish Indefinite Leave to Remain, one of the criteria that currently makes some migrants eligible for social housing.
However, despite Reform’s focus on the issue, official statistics show that only 7% of social housing tenants hold a non-UK passport.
The chief executive of the housing charity Shelter, Sarah Elliott, called Farage’s plan “racist and morally wrong”.
Elliott said: “These divisive plans risk kicking thousands of our friends, neighbours and colleagues out of their homes and the communities they are part of, without justification.”
“This would lead to increasing homelessness, put extreme pressure on councils and rip apart the fabric of our country for no reason,” she added.
Instead of political points-scoring, Elliott urged politicians to focus on building 90,000 social rented homes a year for the next decade.
Despite Farage’s rhetoric about prioritising British nationals, Stand Up To Racism pointed out that Reform won’t focus on tackling the shortage of affordable housing by building more council homes.
In a post on X, Stand Up To Racism wrote: “Reform UK won’t build more council housing,
They’ll continue to leave working class people struggling to put a roof over their head.
“They will attempt to blame ‘foreign nationals’ for the housing crisis. Don’t be fooled by divide & rule.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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