Reform councils could become first to stop housing migrants – ‘put British people first’.T
Nigel Farage has pledged to ‘look at’ leaving Labour’s migrant resettlement schemes (Image: Getty)
Reform UK could scrap migrant housing plans across its newly acquired UK councils, Nigel Farage says. The party leader confirmed Reform would “put the needs of local people first” and “look very hard at leaving” resettlement programmes, which provide housing for hundreds of asylum seekers around the country.
Reform gained control of 14 councils in this week’s local elections as the insurgent party made stunning gains at the expense of Labour, including in heartland regions it had dominated for generations. Mr Farage’s comments followed Reform-led Lancashire County Council’s announcement last week that it would leave the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS) and the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP).
He wrote in The Telegraph: “We will look very hard at leaving the Government’s migrant resettlement policy. In Lancashire, the Reform-run council has launched a bold initiative by declaring that they will leave the Government’s migrant resettlement programme.”
Mr Farage added: “The council made clear that there are real problems facing the people of Lancashire, including ex-servicemen living rough, which ought to take priority over spending more millions on illegal migrants.”
The party’s Home Affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, said: “These schemes have only served to prioritise recent arrivals and foreign nationals ahead of the British public.
“Reform UK in Lancashire is putting an end to a shameful Conservative policy which shoved British people to the back of the queue for housing and council services.”
While the UKRS and ARP schemes are funded by the central Government, Reform said they were impacting “council resources” and putting “significant pressure” on the local housing market.
Joshua Roberts, cabinet member for rural affairs, environment and communities, said: “This proposal is about fairness. Reform UK was elected last May to make sure that people who live, work and contribute to Lancashire are put at the front of the queue and are not disadvantaged.
“We are calling on the Labour Government to stop placing refugees in Lancashire and instead redirect public funds to better support our vulnerable residents and veterans. These people have been deprioritised by successive Labour and Conservative Governments for far too long.”
Critics dismissed the move as a “stunt”, however, since it wouldn’t stop the schemes from operating but instead divert the housing allocation to other parts of the country.
The National Audit Office (NAU) estimates that the cost of the Afghan resettlement schemes could hit £5.7billion by 2033, with Reform claiming that in Lancashire alone, the initiatives had cost taxpayers an average of £7million per year.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to expand the migrant resettlement programmes earlier this year, alongside a crackdown on small boat arrivals.
Speaking in March, she pledged to “open new safe and legal routes, with community sponsorship becoming the new norm”.
Ms Mahmood added: “The entire approach is designed to shift the asylum system in Britain away from dangerous, illegal crossings, and high levels of applications from those without legitimate asylum claims.”
