Reform UK is poised to make history by withdrawing a council it controls from the government's refugee resettlement scheme, declaring the move will ensure British people are no longer pushed to the back of the queue.
Lancashire County Council - controlled by Nigel Farage's insurgent party since last May, when Reform won 53 of 84 seats to form a majority - has moved to exit the UK Resettlement Scheme and the Afghan Resettlement Programme, though provisions for Ukrainian refugees are being kept on.
The scheme was launched by the Conservative government in 2021 to give newly-arrived legal refugees access to homes, medical care, schooling and work support. Reform argues it has compelled the council to prioritise newcomers over people who have lived in the area for years.
The party says public money has gone on arrival cash payments, culturally specific gift hampers, energy bill assistance, and help signing up with doctors and securing benefits - while homeless veterans and other vulnerable locals have been left largely without equivalent support.
Why is Reform pulling out of the refugee scheme?According to the Daily Mail, Reform's Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf said: "These schemes have only served to prioritise recent arrivals and foreign nationals ahead of the British public.
"Reform UK in Lancashire is putting an end to a shameful Conservative policy which shoved British people to the back of the queue for housing and council services."
Joshua Roberts, the council's cabinet member for communities, said the move was about "fairness" and placing local Lancastrians "at the front of the queue."
He added: "We are calling on the Labour Government to stop placing refugees in Lancashire and instead redirect public funds to better support our vulnerable residents and veterans.
"These people have been deprioritised by successive Labour and Conservative governments for far too long."
What happens next with the Lancashire refugee decision?The plan is due to go to the council's Cabinet for approval later this summer. Reform sources indicate other councils under the party's control are lining up to follow.
Mr Yusuf added that on 7 May - local election day - "it is only Reform UK that is standing to ensure that councils across England put British people first."
