Nigel Farage vows to evict foreign nationals living in council housing and warns they could face deportation

Under the plans, non-UK citizens who fail to leave social housing after a three-month grace period would lose their right to remain in Britain.

"Foreign nationals who are unable to relocate to private rented accommodation after a three-month grace period will lose their right to remain and be liable for deportation under Operation Restoring Justice," Mr Farage wrote.

The policy would also prioritise veterans and long-term local residents for social housing, while the most vulnerable would remain exempt from the stricter rules.

"Residency and preference requirements for social housing will be used to ensure that veterans and long-term local residents will be preferenced for social housing, with exceptions only for groups like domestic abuse survivors and care leavers," Mr Farage said.

Those holding dual nationality would face a different approach under Reform UK's proposals.

British citizens who also hold foreign passports would see welfare entitlements, including housing benefit, restricted rather than being automatically removed from social housing.

Mr Farage described the allocation of thousands of social housing tenancies to refugees since 2020 as an "absurdity" and pledged to ensure British nationals receive priority.

He also claimed that around a third of social housing tenants in London were born outside the UK and Ireland.

The Reform leader pointed to the recent case of Fatima Jabbe-Bio, Sierra Leone's First Lady, who occupied a Southwark council property from 2007 until the local authority reclaimed it following an investigation last week.

According to Migration Observatory data, non-UK citizens accounted for one in 10 new social housing lettings during the 2022/23 financial year.

Census figures also showed that the proportion of social housing residents holding non-UK passports rose from five per cent in 2011 to seven per cent by 2021.

A source close to Housing Secretary Steve Reed dismissed the proposals as unworkable without creating an American-style immigration enforcement agency.

"Farage knows there's no way of this happening without establishing a Trump ICE-style deportation police force in the UK, something he will presumably be trialling in Manchester should he win the mayoralty election," the source told The Telegraph.

"If he thinks Brits look at American politics longingly, or that it's credible to make massive unfunded spending commitments, then he's dead wrong."

A Government spokesman said: “Illegal migrants, asylum seekers and migrants on student or work visas are not eligible for social housing.

“Nearly nine in 10 social homes go to UK nationals, and most councils have tough local connections rules in place to ensure housing goes to people who need it most.

“These rules mean people must have a connection to the local area, such as a social care worker or a nurse at a local hospital, in order to even apply for social housing.”

The announcement comes as Reform UK faces growing pressure in the Makerfield by-election, where recent polling suggests support is being squeezed by Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain party.

A survey published by More in Common and the UCL Policy Lab put Labour's Andy Burnham on 45 per cent, ahead of Reform UK's Robert Kenyon on 40 per cent, with Restore Britain's Rebecca Shepherd on eight per cent.

Research has suggested Mr Lowe's breakaway movement could attract up to a fifth of Reform UK voters after positioning itself further to the right on issues including mass deportations.

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