Debunking Nigel Farage’s claims in the Telegraph that helping homeless people will ‘attract more migrants’

Nigel Farage has been accused of stoking fear over his claim that the government’s plan to help rough sleepers will “attract more migrants”.

On Wednesday, Andy Burnham committed another £102 million in funding to provide homeless people with emergency accommodation this winter, stating that he wants “to get everyone in for Christmas”.

This builds on Burnham’s first pledge as prime minister. In his first speech as prime minister, he said he would end rough sleeping for good and committed £340 million towards making good on that pledge.

Yet, Farage doesn’t seem to support this commitment. In a Telegraph story published on Wednesday night, the Reform leader said that helping homeless people would ‘advertise’ to migrants that you get “everything for free if you come by boat”.

Reform uses populist rhetoric about putting “British people first”. Yet, Farage has criticised this policy to help homeless people, and his party has said it would cut benefits for disabled people if it wins power.

The article also argues that a report published by the Centre for Social Justice, the right-wing think tank co-founded by Iain Duncan Smith, revealed that half of rough sleepers on London’s streets in 2025-26 were migrants.

However, the figures lack important context. Migrants with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) are unable to access state benefits, statutory homelessness assistance, or council housing, which can leave them with no choice but to sleep on the streets.

Rather than demonstrating that providing emergency accommodation “attracts” migrants, it shows what happens when they have no safety net. 

Reacting to Farage’s comments, Jenni Regan of charity IMIX, which works to improve how migration is covered in the media, said: “This is a familiar move, taking two separate issues and welding them together to stoke fear, and it does nothing to help a single person sleeping rough this winter. 

Regan added: “The claim doesn’t stand up: people going through the asylum system are housed by the Home Office, not by councils, and have no recourse to public funds, so they cannot access council housing or statutory homelessness support. 

“People do not sleep rough, or cross the Channel, because of a housing announcement, they do it out of desperation. Everyone, including those genuinely worried about housing pressures, is better served by a debate grounded in facts than one driven by fear.”

In summary, it is misleading to claim that emergency housing “attracts” asylum seekers when they are unable to access it. Instead, migrants can be at greater risk of rough sleeping because they cannot access benefits or statutory homelessness assistance.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward