The leader of Reform UK has accused the Conservatives of trying to mimic his policies by planning a controversial “British homes for British workers” scheme, as the rightwing populist party edges higher in the polls.
Both parties will go into the next general election with the same promise to give British people priority access to social homes, it has emerged.
As Reform hit 13% for the first time in a national poll, its leader, Richard Tice, chided the Conservatives for trying to copy the rightwing party after the Guardian revealed the government is considering a plan to give UK citizens higher priority for social housing.
Officials will launch a consultation in the coming weeks into how they can give British citizens faster access to social housing, a move designed in part to bolster the prime minister’s reputation for being tough on immigration.
Reform UK said it was planning to campaign on a similar policy that would “prioritise local people”.
The policy will state that, in parts of the UK, almost half of all lead tenants in social housing were born overseas. It adds: “Those who have paid into the system for years must come first. Foreign nationals must go to the back of the queue. Not the front.”
Tice said: “The Tories are desperately trying to steal our clothes, whether we are wearing them or not.”
The Conservatives’ move has prompted anger from some in government, who warn it could further boost support for Reform. The latest government figures show that 90% of the lead tenants in social housing are British citizens. In certain areas, however, that figure is much lower.
Olivia Blake, a Labour MP and co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on migration, described the government’s plans as “vile scapegoating of some of our most vulnerable communities in a desperate bid to hold on to power. The solution to the housing crisis is to build social housing.”
Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson, said: “The Conservative party are stealing straight from the Nigel Farage playbook.
“This policy is not just totally unworkable and baseless, it risks playing into the hands of the far right and those who want to divide our communities.
“Instead of sowing the seeds of division to distract from their own failures, the government should be focusing on building the affordable and social homes the country needs.”
Rules around who can access social housing are already strict. According to guidance set out by Westminster, local authorities should give first priority to people who are homeless, moving from another social home, living in squalid or cramped conditions, or who have medical reasons to need one.
Foreign citizens are not allowed to apply for social housing unless they have been granted indefinite leave to remain, meaning they are permanently settled in the UK. Those seeking asylum are treated like any other foreign citizen: they only qualify if their refugee status is approved and they are granted settled status.
In the final years of Gordon Brown’s government, Labour added a new rule: if a council has to choose between two families of roughly equal need, it could take into account how long they have lived in the area and what local connections they have.
The scheme was billed by critics as “British homes for British workers”, though that was not a term Labour ministers used. Those who were in charge of implementing Brown’s policy said they maintained the guidance stipulating that need should trump local connections, and that they built significantly more social homes than the current government.
If the Tories did want to change the guidance, the simplest way would be to exclude those with refugee status, or even all those with indefinite leave to remain, from accessing social homes.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said he did not want to get drawn into “speculation”, but added: “It’s important that we have a policy that is fair for everyone. We want to build more homes and boost social housing supply and obviously we keep any policies under review.”
A YouGov poll on voting intention for the Times has put seven points between the Tories, on 20%, and Reform UK, on 13%.
Will Jennings, a professor of public policy at the University of Southampton, said it was not clear whether the polls were overstating the support for Reform UK but it was unquestionable that the party was a growing threat to the Conservatives.
“That’s why they [the Conservatives] are doubling down on issues like migration and small boats because that’s where they currently see a real existential threat to their vote,” he said.
