Ashfield MP writes to Angela Rayner to Demand she Prioritises British Citizens for Council Housing

Ashfield's Reform UK Member of Parliament Lee Anderson has written to Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to slam her disgraceful decision last August to abandon plans to prioritise British citizens over migrants for housing. Lee Anderson challenged her at the time, but as illegal immigration spirals further out of control under Labour, he wanted to directly call on the Government to introduce legislation to guarantee British citizens will always be prioritised for council housing.

Lee Anderson MP's letter to Angela Rayner MP on Prioritising UK Citizens for Council Housing

Lee Anderson wrote:

"Dear The Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP,

RE: Council Housing Waiting Lists

I am writing to ask if as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, you will commit to passing legislation to guarantee refugees and asylum seekers are not prioritised for council housing ahead of British citizens.

In August 2024 you decided to drop proposals to ensure people resident in Britain for a minimum of 10 years would be given priority on council housing waiting lists. As Secretary of State for Housing in the United Kingdom, I believe your priority should be ensuring the housing system works for the British people. Why did you decide it was acceptable to consider people who have only just arrived in the country to be more important to house in council housing than hard working British families?

The current situation for council housing priority gives local authorities the ability to set guidelines for who is given reasonable preference to house based on various situations and characteristics. Despite some minor differences between different councils, the circumstances that place someone at the top of the list are fairly consistent across all local authorities.

When the government delegate the housing of refugees or people granted leave to remain across to councils, these local government bodies are then responsible for placing them on the waiting list in a position they deem appropriate. Because you chose to abandon plans to prioritise British citizens, we are now in the situation where refugees and immigrants can be housed first. This is wrong and completely goes against what the government should be doing, which is first and foremost looking after its own citizens.

I wish to point out the fact the system is inherently biased against British working families. People who arrive in Britain claiming asylum will have no house, no job, no stable income, no family connections, making it inevitable they will be placed at the top of the list. Meanwhile, hardworking families will be shunted down as they will technically have ‘less reasonable preference’.

What message does this send to working class people across the UK? You can work hard, do the right thing, but you’ll not be given a council house as someone who has only just arrived in the country, potentially illegally, is deemed more important than you because of a system that is rigged against you from the start. And then to cap it off, you will help pay for it through your taxes. This should not be how council housing works. It should be a platform to support struggling, hardworking families in their time of need, not a glorified asylum centre.

The government and local authorities claim immigrant families are not given priority above British families when allocating council housing, but the reality is the current system of reasonable preference de facto prioritises refugees above everyone else. And this is simply not good enough. Only last week you said, "While Britain was a successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith country, the government had to show it had a plan to address people's concerns and provide opportunities for everyone to flourish." British families cannot flourish without homes. Concerns will not be addressed when the door to council homes are shut off to them, just because they were born in this country.

With this in mind, will your department introduce legislation to remove this inherent bias from the system and guarantee British citizens will always be prioritised for council housing ahead of immigrants.

A failure to do so would show us clearly where the government’s priorities lie.

Yours Sincerely,

Lee Anderson MP

Member of Parliament for Ashfield"