Reform vows to put British workers at top of the list for social housing

Published: 00:30, 24 August 2026 | Updated: 00:33, 24 August 2026 Reform UK has vowed to put British-born workers at the front of the queue for council housing if it wins the next election. Nigel Farage's party said it would overhaul the way social housing is allocated to give priority to British nationals who have jobs. It said it would give priority to married couples with children who are under the age of 35 and are working, as well as military veterans. The party has already said it would evict foreign-born nationals from social housing to free up hundreds of thousands of social homes. It estimates that 540,000 social homes are currently occupied by foreign nationals and says that of the 1.3m on waiting lists, 15 per cent are foreign-born. The plans were previously announced by the leader Mr Farage in June. The party's deputy leader Richard Tice is expected to set out plans to build 50,000 affordable social homes a year at a press conference today. He said: 'There are now 1.3 million people waiting for social housing in Britain. The vast majority of them do not have jobs. Reform UK deputy leader is expected to set out plans to build 50,000 affordable social homes a year 'In terms of the social houses we have, less than half of households are in work and over half a million social homes are currently occupied by foreign nationals. 'Meanwhile, young British men and women, who are working hard, can't afford to move out of their family home, and when they do often find themself sharing a house with strangers, with no realistic prospect of forming a family or getting on. 'It is time for us to prioritise young British workers.' But a Labour Party spokesman said the plans were 'unworkable', adding: 'Access to social housing is already tightly controlled. Illegal migrants, asylum seekers and migrants on student or work visas are not eligible for social housing. 'This policy would go after long-term UK residents that have contributed to our country but are not British citizens, including NHS staff. 'It would leave more families at risk of homelessness and drive up use of temporary accommodation at the taxpayers' expense. 'It would also mean renegotiations with the EU, resulting in years of wrangling.' Sir James Cleverly, shadow housing secretary, accused Reform of announcing unfunded plans. He said: 'This is yet another unfunded announcement from Reform and shows they have not done the hard work needed and is so often the case their maths simply doesn't stack up. 'The Conservatives have already set out comprehensive plans to ensure British nationals are at the front of the queue for social housing. Now Reform are trying to catch up.'