Reform outline housing policies to give Scots priority and ‘put Scotland first’

Reform are pledging to bring in legislation at Holyrood that would prioritise Scots when it comes to allocating social housing.

Party leaders said that this would end the current situation where “swathes” of illegal  migrants are being given priority when it comes to housing.

Reform, which is led by Nigel Farage in the UK and by former Conservative peer Lord Malcolm Offord in Scotland, also proposes to end what it describes as being a “homeless loophole” introduced by the SNP that it said had “resulted in our country becoming a magnet for mass illegal immigration”.

The proposals are included in Reform’s newly announced plan to tackle housing and homelessness in Scotland.

It comes in the wake of Scottish Government figures which last week showed a record 18,092 households – including 10,480 children – in temporary
accommodation, the highest totals since 2002.

As part of its response, Reform said it would lobby the UK Government to remove Glasgow’s status as a “dispersal city”, which means it is home to a reported 4,500 asylum seekers.

Those people in the country illegally should instead be sent to Home Office detention centres, Reform UK argued.

It also proposes changing the law so that overseas students could be charged council tax, with the party arguing “every penny” of the  cash raised from this could go towards building more social housing.

Speaking about the proposals, Thomas Kerr, a Reform UK councillor in Glasgow, insisted that First Minister John Swinney “and his rotten SNP Government have all the wrong priorities”.

Mr Kerr claimed the Scottish Government “refuse to ask difficult questions about migration and housing” leaving Scotland “paying the price”.

He added that “only Reform will put Scotland first”, saying his party is “not afraid to identify what needs to change”.

The Reform councillor continued: “The figures speak for themselves. While the number of homeless applications from Scots are falling, applications from those who are here illegally are on the rise.

“When I grew up in Cranhill, in Glasgow’s east end, it was poverty-stricken, but it had a strong sense of community. Today, that sense of community has been lost and replaced by decisions made far away with little regard for local impact.

“Under SNP and Labour politicians, social cohesion has broken down, with Scottish families pushed down housing lists while the system is abused by illegal migrants. That is wrong and it must end.”

Mr Kerr pledged: “A Reform Scottish Government would immediately close Nicola Sturgeon’s homeless loophole that has resulted in our country becoming a magnet for mass illegal immigration.

“We will also push to remove Glasgow’s dispersal status and ensure those housed here illegally are returned to Home Office detention centres.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.