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

Wow, talk about 'tell it as it is'!

Have they really?

Are they happy to put it bluntly wipe the bums of older British people like the Irish and Spanish citizens I personally know who have social housing? Oh and these individuals have been in the UK for over 40 years and over 30 years respectively.

Edited to say - citizenship and skin colour are necessarily what you expect.

Tories vote-chasing.

Winning votes by scratching a bigots itch

This ^

The Tories are clearly going for the Racist Moron vote.

While they are at it i hope they prioritise spending on our school infrastructure instead of prioritising Foreign Aid.

This is a good point. I think both sides have valid points. I can see why some people would get upset that their offspring do not benefit from their contribution which is a fair sentiment but also as you say if they think they are owed some kind of right without contributing themselves then it’s fair to offer a family willing to contribute to ongoing society priority. This is a hard one I’m back on the fence now. ☺️

The UK offered protection to 23,841 people (including dependants) in 2022 according to .gov.uk. So maybe 15,000 dwellings needed.

The vast majority of new arrivals were on student visas, work visas or to be with family, and very few of those are eligible for social housing (some of the family ones).

It’s a valid issue being dressed up as something it’s not. We have major housing issues in this country but asylum seekers aren’t subject to a fast lane to housing - they will probably fulfill criteria and score highly under most councils/HA associations just by the circumstance of being an asylum seeker.

The current cabinet are talking out of their arse and window dressing to make it look like they’re doing something. They tried to offer the electorate something with changes to nursery provision which looks like it’s dead in the water before it’s even launched in April. They seem surprised they’re not governing a country with the same resources it had 15 years ago.

Go watch the BBC “How to get a council house” tv series on You Tube. You will see time and time again people who just moved here get housing over people been waiting years. Because it’s based on need. So if you show up with 5 kids and need a home of course your top of the list.

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.

If I moved to Australia with right papers and moved in with family made myself over crowded. Qualified social housing over a single parent living with her parents on the list for 10 years I assume they would be to happy either.

But they are not saying the houses are to be prioritised for people that pay taxes. Just British citizens.
I am sure a lot of people would love it if you got bumped up the list the more tax you paid

Wtf has this government done for British workers?

There are loads of policies they could have pursued that would have given people stable affordable housing if that was at all a priority. It obviously isn't though. To get to the end of all those years in power and then blame "foreign nationals" (and I agree that this is a deliberately obfuscatory phrase) for their failure on this front is desperate.

Option C - cynical vote harvesting in times of desperation

A nation's first responsibility is to its own citizens, but part of that responsibility is not allowing in too many new people who can't provide for themselves within a reasonable length of time. Housing is just the tip of that particular iceberg.

The problem is that the British population who have paid in taxes for generations, see housing going to those who have not contributed, and it creates anger and resentment. You only have to look to Germany and the AfD's representation in the Bundestag to see where that can lead. We don't want to drive people into the arms of the BNP.

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.

There are no easy answers.

So under this policy a single man in his 30s with British citizenship would get a house over a Polish family with young children who have 'only' been in the UK for 10 years? I can see why that would be appealing to some people, but it's not a policy I feel particularly comfortable with.

Families are never left on the street even if they can only get a B&B
It is single people that need some focus. They are left to rot.

Again- and I dont know why people get so confused about this

A refugee does have access to social housing and public funds. A refugee is someone who has refugee status.

Someone still seeking asylum does not have access to social housing and public funding

I agree with your other points.

But what if the next generation have never worked, never contributed to the tax system and have claimed benefits all their lives. Do they get the benefits of their elders efforts?
My children do not need to buy a house just because I have, that makes no sense, they need to stand on their own feet, be responsible adults and contribute just like I do, no special treatment because of my efforts.

The problem is that there are a lot of people who are at the stage of not having paid into the system for 40 years (or anywhere near it).

As for grandparents or parents, getting a home is nothing like getting a passport.

its pre election nonsense, this government has no intention to build more social housing so what exactly is going to change.

refugees have no right to council houses anyway.

if they gave a shit they'd be on a massive building kick rather than letting developers build poor doors and zombie blocks sold to foreign investors.

let alone foreign governments having large stakes in our utilities services and owning our government buildings.

I think it's a ridiculous gimmick trying to win votes off nationalists and racists.
Because technically that's the way it worked anyway.. obviously people who already have citizenship are given social housing first.. how on earth would an asylum seeker even get that? They go thru years of being put up in hotels etc.. I know this via the mental health service I work for which sometimes deals with people who do not have citizenship.
Very hard to find accommodation even when the person is extremely mentally unwell.
This is an absolute gimmick that just encourages resentment towards asylum sekers who are still some of the most vulnerable people in our country.
All a smoke screen to drum up votes and have an effectively voiceless group blamed for issues actually caused by intentional government cutbacks to public services

People who have no "approved right" to live in the UK cannot access social housing anyway. Those who have the right to live and work in the UK should be housed based on their need. This is just another knee-jerk policy to blame those pesky foreigners and small boats for an inept and moribund government. Why is there a shortage of social housing? One word answer - Tories. They sold off loads of it and ensured that there was insufficient new stock built.

Suspicion is that it is a signpost for those who would consider voting con but are wavering. They’ve been in government for nearly 14 years in one form or another. I actually agree with the principle but the timing is cynical.

I mean if someone has paid into the welfare state for 40 years and their children need social housing why shouldn’t they get priority for housing over someone who has only just been granted a right to stay and not paid a single penny into the country. Because atm that is exactly what is happening it’s correct that illegal immigrants aren’t entitled to housing but that doesn’t speak to the thousands that are awarded right to stay and are being given priority for housing as they are assessed on merits as if they have contributed equally. Also it’s worth noting that in London most of the available housing is going to people born outside the uk. Guess it depends if you think your parents and grandparents contributions should count I’m of the opinion that they should.