Reform UK vows to give social housing priority to young British workers

Reform UK announced that, if it entered government, it would prioritize British-born employees under 35, ex-military staff and married couples with children when assigning social housing, alongside a pledge to build 50,000 affordable homes a year without raising taxes or borrowing. Deputy leader Richard Tice said the party would also evict foreign nationals from the housing register, a policy previously condemned by the charity Shelter as divisive.

Labour’s spokesperson dismissed the plan as unrealistic, warning it would jeopardise long-term UK residents, including NHS workers, and increase reliance on temporary accommodation. The Conservative Party, which also proposes to restrict foreign nationals’ access, suggested Reform is merely copying its approach, while Liberal Democrat spokesperson Gideon Amos labeled the proposal a “cruel gimmick”. Data from the English Housing Survey show 88.5% of main social-home householders are UK or Irish nationals, with Reform estimating 540,000 homes currently occupied by foreign nationals.