BADENOCH’S CONSERVATIVES PROPOSE BAN ON SOCIAL HOUSING FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS IN ENGLAND

The UK Conservative Party has announced plans to end access to social housing for most foreign nationals in England if it wins the next general election.

The party said the proposal would free up an estimated 228,144 homes for British families and help reduce pressure on housing waiting lists.

According to the proposal, new social housing tenancies would be limited to UK nationals and people with EU settled status.

Current tenants who are not UK, Irish or EU citizens, including couples where neither partner holds eligible status, would reportedly have six months to leave their homes.

The Conservatives argued that Labour had lost control of immigration, leaving many British families waiting longer for affordable housing.

Labour rejected the proposal, describing it as unworkable and accusing the Conservatives of copying a similar policy previously announced by Reform UK.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner warned that the proposal could affect refugees and long-term UK residents while increasing the risk of homelessness.

Housing charity Shelter also criticised the plan, saying access to social housing is already strictly regulated and that the proposal could force thousands of families and pensioners from their homes.

The charity argued that the UK's housing crisis is largely the result of decades of underinvestment in affordable social housing rather than immigration.

According to government figures cited by the BBC, 1.34 million households were on social housing waiting lists as of March 2025.

The proposal comes as political parties continue to debate immigration and housing policies ahead of the UK's next general election.