Lee Anderson has declared Reform UK will make "no apology" for the party's latest policy announcement as he defended plans to remove foreign nationals from Britain's council housing.
Speaking to GB News, the Reform Chairman argued that it is "not controversial" for a Government to "want to put British people first".
The party has unveiled fresh plans to overhaul the social housing system in the UK by prioritising British-born youth over foreign nationals and asylum seekers.
Under the plans, British-born workers under 35 will be put "at the front of the queue", with priority given to married couples with children in a bid to ease the difficulties of getting on the housing ladder.
Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Deputy Leader Richard Tice said: "We've ended up with a desperate shortage of affordable housing, council housing, and it's got worse and worse.
"Our ambition is to stop the rot. We need to turn it around. And so from a construction point of view, a Reform Government will build an extra 50,000 affordable social homes every year for a decade.
"That is more than has been achieved for decades. Not only do we know it's the right thing to do, but it's also the fair thing to do. But it's absolutely essential."
Defending the plan on GB News, Mr Anderson said: "Back in the 1940s, when the welfare state was created by a Labour Government, a council house was was a privilege, it wasn't an automatic right.
"And council houses were allocated on a suitability basis, not a need as they are today. It should be a privilege and it should be a reward for hard work and being a decent citizen and doing the right thing."
The Reform Chairman has stressed how difficult it is for young Britons to get on the housing ladder.
He explained: "We're going to prioritise young British workers, and if they look after their house and they contribute towards society and they go to work, after five years, they will be eligible through the Right to Buy scheme to buy their house at a discount.
"We think that's the right thing for young British workers to get a foot on the housing ladder.
"We know difficult it is for a young person to get their first property, it's nigh on impossible and it's nigh on impossible in London if you're a British born person to get any sort of social housing at all."
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Host Martin Daubney echoed the criticism from Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, who warned that evictions could include "NHS workers", Mr Anderson declared her remarks a "load of rubbish".
He told GB News: "I think she's talking a load of rubbish. There's not that many NHS workers living in social housing, I can tell you, the foreign workers they keep harping on about, I think it's a bit rich.
"We make no apologies for putting British born people first. The first duty of a Government is to put British people first. What is controversial about that? This would have been mainstream policy ideas 30 or 40 years ago.
"No apologies at all, we want to put our young British people first. Simple as."
Hitting back at critics who would argue the policy is "racist", Mr Anderson responded: "Name another country in the world where British folks can just rock up and expect to be given a council house and benefits? We are not the breadbasket of the world, we're not the housing charity.
"We are at the moment, but what other country would do what we're doing currently, at the moment? I don't think you can name any where you get free houses, free benefits and free healthcare."
In a statement, a Labour Party spokesperson said: "Reform is so desperate to try and deflect attention away from the scandals Nigel Farage is drowning in, they have cobbled together unworkable and unserious plans which they can’t answer even basis questions on.
"It would blow a £10billion black hole in the public finances, would create years of wrangling with the EU, and could leave British citizens without a place to call home.
"This Labour Government is investing billions to deliver the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, to fix the housing crisis we inherited from the Tories."
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