Reform’s Robert Jenrick and Zia Yusuf in public row over party’s immigration policy

A civil war has broken out in Reformation England over a major dispute over its flagship “mass deportation” policy of foreign nationals.

At a particularly sensitive time for reform, as Labor tries to win the Makerfield by-election against Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, the party’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, lashed out at the party’s treasury spokesman, Robert Jenrick, in an interview on Sky News on Sunday.

Former Conservative immigration minister Mr Jenrick insisted foreign nationals living in social housing would not be deported.

But Mr Youssef gave X a link to Mr Jenrick’s interview, claiming his answer was “No reform policy”.

Mr Jenrick told Sky’s Sir Trevor Phillips that living in social housing was not “merely” a reason to deport foreign nationals, but rather it was linked to one’s earnings.

Asked whether it was Reform policy to deport someone who is legally resident but living in social housing, Mr Jenrick said: “In some cases, because we said we would abolish ILR [indefinite leave to remain visa status] and make the path to British citizenship that much longer… Our Policy [is] You will need to keep applying. “If you have a job and meet the criteria, you can progress towards becoming a British citizen.”

But on the same question, Mr Jenrick later admitted: “Yes, it’s not just that. If they don’t meet our criteria because they don’t work or don’t earn enough because they don’t work hard enough, then they won’t be able to renew their work visa because of the ILR.” [indefinite leave to remain] will cease to exist and they will be asked to leave.

He added: “Under the reform government, social housing will only be available to British citizens. So unless you’re British, you’ll never be able to access social housing.”

Responding to comments on social media, Yusuf said: “Robert’s answer is not Reform policy.

“As the person in charge of our deportation plan, I want people to know where we stand: If a foreign national lives in taxpayer-paid social housing, they automatically fail our economic test and are deported.”

This isn’t the first time the two men have clashed; Mr Yusuf has previously been highly critical of Mr Jenrick’s failure to tackle legal and illegal immigration figures as immigration minister under Rishi Sunak’s government.

The pair are said to have “reconciled” following Mr Jenrick’s departure from the Conservative Party, according to sources.

Labor Immigration Minister Mike Tapp sought to capitalize on the pair’s dispute, claiming it showed that Reform politicians in the UK were “making this up as they went along”.

He posted on social media: “Reform has no plan and while they are bickering among themselves the government is actually reducing immigration.

“The reformist rags are in chaos, making it up as they go.”

Mr Farage’s party has previously promised to revoke settled status for all non-EU immigrants and require those given indefinite leave to remain to re-apply under much stricter rules; This means tens of thousands of people legally settled in Britain could face deportation.

The party vowed to “end the mass immigration scam and finally put British nationals first” and insisted there would be “no recourse to benefits for foreign nationals”.

The party has also pledged to implement “an emergency five-year program to detect, detain and deport illegal immigrants in the UK” and pass the “Illegal Immigration (Mass Deportation) Bill to ensure that anyone entering the country illegally is denied asylum”.

The row comes just weeks after the party’s rhetoric on “mass immigration” was also criticized in an interview by Reform London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham. Independent.

He warned that Reform UK’s language on immigration was responsible for the party’s failure to make the gains it had hoped for in London in local elections.

Ms Cunningham said: “When we talk about mass deportation, these are illegal immigrants and maybe we should be more clear about that because mass deportation has certain connotations, right?

“I think the opposition parties [Labour and the Greens] They’ve done a very good job of simply labeling us as racist or divisive rather than discussing our actual politics. Unfortunately, this happened.”

While the Reformation made big gains across England (they came in a strong second place in Wales and tied for second place with Labor in Scotland), the expected gains in London have largely failed to materialise.

Reform has been contacted for comment.