Reform UK’s plans to prioritise British-born workers for social housing have been slammed as “unserious” and “cruel.”
On Monday, deputy leader Richard Tice announced Reform would prioritise British-born workers under 35 when allocating social housing if it were to get into power.
The party would also prioritise former military service personnel and married couples with children for social housing.
The plans would therefore make it more difficult for single parents, unemployed people or those born outside of the UK to access social housing.
The announcement comes after Reform had already pledged to evict every foreign national from social housing within three months of getting into power.
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Speaking on Monday, Tice said: “We’re saying that the first people we should be looking after are young, British workers – under 35, young British married couples, young British veterans – who have done the right thing.”
“It’s not fair that young British working families can’t get on the housing ladder when overseas nationals have come to the UK and, because of the current rules based on need rather than suitability, they have jumped ahead in the queue,” he added.
But the plans have been slammed by political opponents and charities, who point out that foreign nationals only make up a small proportion of those living in social homes.
In 2024/25, UK or Irish nationals made up 88.5% of main social home householders, according to the English Housing Survey.
There are also tough rules already in place to decide who social housing is allocated to, with illegal migrants, asylum seekers and migrants on student or work visas already not eligible for social housing.
A Labour party spokesperson said Reform’s plans are “unserious and unworkable” and a “desperate bid to shift headlines away from Reform’s sleaze, scandals and infighting.”
They continued: “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.
“While Reform push gimmicks and division, Labour is doing the hard yards to build more homes and bring back hope across our country.”
Francesca Albanese, Director of Policy and Social Change at Crisis, said the policy proposal would not fix Britain’s housing crisis and would instead “risk stoking division and scapegoating people who are already facing housing insecurity.”
She continued: “It’s almost impossible for non-UK nationals to access social housing, with official figures showing that the vast majority of social tenants are UK citizens. The idea that people can simply come to this country and be given a social home is untrue.
“Excluding people from social housing because they are out of work would mean turning away older people, disabled people and carers. Nearly half of households moving into a social home include someone with a long-term illness or disability.”
This was echoed by Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, who said the plans will “only serve to disrupt the lives of thousands of families, tear communities apart, and put even more people at risk of homelessness.”
Elliott called on politicians to “stop scoring cheap political points and get on with building the 90,000 social rent homes a year for the next ten years that we desperately need.”
Meanwhile, the Green Party’s Siân Berry labelled Reform’s social housing plan a “blatantly racist and cruel policy” designed to “create a two-tier Britain – one for those born in the UK and one for everyone else.”
Lib Dem spokesperson Gideon Amos said the plans were a “cruel gimmick.”