A public row has erupted within Reform UK over the party's flagship policy on deporting foreign nationals, exposing deep divisions between two senior figures. Treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick and home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf have disagreed sharply on whether living in social housing should be grounds for deportation.
In an interview with Sky News, Jenrick, a former Tory immigration minister, stated that living in social housing would not exclusively trigger deportation. He argued that the policy would link deportation to a person's earnings and work status, with indefinite leave to remain being abolished in favour of a longer path to citizenship. Yusuf immediately took to social media to contradict him, insisting that under Reform policy, any foreign national living in social housing at taxpayer expense would automatically fail the economic test and be deported.
The clash comes at a sensitive time for Reform as it campaigns in the Makerfield by-election against Labour's Andy Burnham. It is not the first disagreement between the two men; Yusuf has previously criticised Jenrick's record as immigration minister under Rishi Sunak. Sources claim they have since 'made peace', but the spat has been seized upon by Labour immigration minister Mike Tapp, who accused Reform of 'making it up as they go along'.
Reform has pledged to scrap settled status for non-EU migrants and implement a five-year emergency programme to deport illegal migrants. However, the party's rhetoric has faced internal criticism, with London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham warning that language around 'mass deportation' has harmed its electoral prospects in the capital.
