Debunked! The Plan to Ban Foreign Nationals from Social Housing Is Based on BS Numbers

First Reform UK and now the Conservatives have pledged to ban foreign nationals from social housing. But, as top economist Jonathan Portes argues, their arbitrary numbers just don't add up.

A note from our Editor-in-Chief:

Thank you for subscribing to Zeteo UK. We are still in soft-launch mode till September as we finish recruiting our team, but given the craziness of the British news cycle right now, we will be publishing stories and op-eds on a semi-regular basis between now and then. Please do become a paid subscriber today so you can read and watch all of our Zeteo UK original content without hitting a paywall – and also so you can help fund independent journalism in Britain. - Mehdi Hasan

The Tories claim that their plan would free up 228,144 homes for British families, but the numbers tell a different story. Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Back in June, Reform pledged to ban foreign nationals from social housing. True to form, the announcement papered over its lack of detail or credibility with lashings of xenophobic rhetoric. And equally true to form, a few weeks later the Conservatives followed up with a watered-down version of the same policy.

In contrast to Reform, the policy has the virtue, if nothing else, of being remarkably precise. The Conservatives claim that excluding most non-EU foreign nationals from social housing – including removing some existing tenants – would “free up” 228,144 homes for British families. They also say that restricting social housing to British nationals will save taxpayers £3.9 billion a year.

Unfortunately, precision is not the same thing as accuracy. And here’s why.