AIBU to ask if the plan to 'prioritise British families' for social housing is an attack on asylum seekers or a long overdue reform?

All well and good but it’s a bit much to ask that for some bizarre reason anyone should think that this government have suddenly started doing their jobs. As opposed to the dog whistling and race baiting that has been their currency for at least the past eight years…

They’ve realised they can’t get the votes of the working poor as they have made their lives hell so think dangling the carrot of ‘homes for workers’ will win them back 🤦‍♀️

Warehouses, we covered that already.

Unfortunately, the Tories will keep falling back on this kind of strategy because they know it really works!!

If the Tories hadn't sold off all the social housing this wouldn't be an issue. They've created this mess and they are now looking for a scapegoat to hang it on. It's what they always do. It's always the immigrants, the disabled, the benefit "scroungers", single mothers (oh and don't forget Europe!). it's the same every time. Why people keep falling for these blatantly obvious diversion/electioneering tactics that they use time and time again I don't know. Wise up people!!!

Oh, really? Where would you like the non-working disabled to live?

Yep. I guess the Tories are thinking that they can target multiple popular scapegoats in one fell swoop. Very efficient.

No, they mean people legally resident in the UK, with foreign passports. So Nigerian, Bangladeshi, Turkish, Somali, Indian immigrants, who have lived here perfectly legally for years, possibly even born here, and who are likely working, but who have the shocking boldness to qualify for affordable housing.

The interesting word I see in the title is "Workers"

The ridiculous knee-jerk cries of racism, bigotry and dog-whistle on this thread are as depressing as they are unsurprising and unthinking.

A government's first duty is to the people of its country. Of course nationals should be prioritised for resources. The main concern is why it took so long for the UK to implement what other countries do as a matter of course and all previous governing parties are to blame as well. It isn't racism, it's a government doing its job. Now we just need more social housing which again is the fault of successive governments.

It's a good dog whistle for an election year. It will no doubt be very well received by the racist voters that the Tories are going after.

Good thinking, Rishi.

@Katypp do you really believe that this government would prioritise British born people if every foreign born person was removed from the equation? Because we have some pretty strong evidence from the past thirteen years that they wouldn’t. They would have done that already wouldn’t they?

They’re happy to invoke the image of a ‘hard working family’ but they do bugger all for anybody.

You need the social housing to be there in numbers. So it would just be a theory in practice. Then of course after five years leave to remain, someone can apply for UK citizenship in any case.

It is genuinely a complete mystery to me why it is so controversial for a country to prioritise the needs of its own citizens over those of other nationalities.
I also suspect those shouting the loudest are not desperate for social housing themselves so have the luxury of looking down their noses at the opinions of people who are genuinely affected by the situation

No of course its not racist to prioritise British families in Britain. In fact its about bloody time they did.

So should a British citizen who has worked and paid tax for x number of years be prioritised over a British citizen who have never worked?

That would then have you prioritising low paid workers over say single parents or disabled people who cannot work for various reasons.

It's should be based on need. And as stated on here you can't get a house unless you are given citizenship

So there has to be a balance. The obvious answer would be more social housing, banning of second homes, banning homes being left empty for more than 6 months or being used as AirBnBs, so freeing them up for people to live in. This and also stop houses and apartments being bought by foreign nationals as investments and left empty. Come and live here and contribute to the economy - fine. Make housing such as new apartments unavailable - not fine. I know they tend to be at the luxury end but it all adds to the general house price inflation.

im in social housing I have great neighbours but 90% of our block the adults weren’t born in the UK. From all over the world they came to work etc. but they still got a home over people I grew up who are still on the waiting list. They have right to live here, move in with extended family who are seriously over crowded then top of the list they go. So yea they are more in need than someone who’s stuck living with their parents and never going afford their own home but not particular fair either.

I've seen this as well but I don't like this police either and at the core of the problem is need more social housing and housing more generally.

However my siblings live there been load of HA building last few years which is how they got places but at same time many other locals never cease to moan about building works and extra housing and more burden on local services.

We need to build more houses but at same time there's a lot of opposition to doing so.

Exactly this. Earlier this month my local paper ran a story about a teen mum and boyfriend who were living with her parents and couldn’t get social housing despite having a newborn. Cue all the bigots, “if you had come over on a boat, you’d be housed by now”. Not one person commented that they weren’t homeless and just because you have a newborn doesn’t guarantee a home!

There are only three types of people in social housing already: British nationals, individuals with settled status who can access all the same services as British nationals, and refugees, who can access all the same services as British nationals. That’s it.

Yet another policy claiming to cut down on immigration that will actually do no such thing, like doubling the wage needed for a UK national to be able to bring over a spouse from abroad. How many “immigrants” does that account for? Roughly 12,000. Out of the 300,000 the Tories have let in per year.

It’s just more performative cruelty from this government. Trying to appeal to the far right before they lose them to some splinter group of even worse conservatives.

Dog whistle racism to pick up votes from the hard of thinking. The Tories have reduced the amount of social housing so barely anyone can access it. They are still not going to provide what is needed for desperate families , whatever their background

If they wanted Bristish families to have housing they could have built it.

British doesn't equal white.

People forget that not only Britain but other European countries had colonies so people can be on passports you don't expect.

This is just electioneering. The housing system in the UK is broken and has been for decades. Social Housing being sold off and not replaced, not enough new homes being built.

It's a soundbite with no teeth - if the Tories had wanted to restrict access to social housing then they have had 13 years in which to do so. If they wanted to restrict the number of immigrants they could have done that too - they brought in the new visa "points" system that saw the highest number of visas ever given out to come and live here.

If they wanted Bristish families to have housing they could have built it. It's all a nonsense. Not any immigrants fault, they just want a better life and opportunities to thrive or to study but the profits resulting from increased migration such as low wages, increased comeptition for jobs and rising housing and land values all go into private hands whilst the costs ( providing housing benefit, UC top ups, education, health, pressure on infrastructure, rapid changes in demographics of areas, increased competition for jobs and houses, all of us scrambling around for scraps) are socialised ( ie. paid Joe Public). Just how the Tories like it.