Tensions rise in Thetford over eviction policy
Kemi Badenoch has been warned against inflaming tensions in Thetford with her pledge to evict foreign nationals from social housing as police brace for further anti-migrant unrest in the Norfolk town, reports BritPanorama.
The Conservative leader’s proposal was branded “dangerous” by the head of the National Housing Federation after asylum seekers were forced to flee their homes on Thursday as disorder continued for a third night.
Kate Henderson, chief executive of the organisation representing social housing providers, urged politicians to reflect on their language regarding those living in council houses.
“In a week when families in Thetford have had their homes targeted and stormed, it is dangerous to talk about people’s neighbours as though they are illegitimate occupants of their homes,” she said. “Politicians should weigh that very carefully.”
The Tories have been accused of copying Nigel Farage’s Reform Party with their plan to bar foreign nationals from social housing, unveiled on Thursday, which critics have termed “unserious and unworkable.”
The party claims the plan could free up around 230,000 homes by limiting entitlement and enforcing evictions.
However, critics warn that the proposal could breach the UK’s international obligations, potentially leading to legal challenges and exacerbating homelessness, ultimately costing taxpayers more.
Under the plan, any single person who is not a UK, Irish or EU citizen, alongside couples where neither qualifies, would lose their social home, regardless of whether they have children.
Those affected would then have six months to vacate their properties.
Only UK nationals and those with EU settled status would be eligible for new tenancies, while new arrivals from the EU would not qualify.
Henderson added: “Evicting people who are our friends and neighbours and who have played by our country’s rules is against our sector’s values and British values. This policy would increase homelessness and create instability and division in our communities.”
She continued that families would still need a place to live, and many would likely end up homeless, raising the burden on councils to provide costly emergency housing.
Norfolk’s police chief, Paul Sanford, indicated that some protesters were “targeting addresses” they believed housed asylum seekers.
Two people were arrested on Thursday night, bringing the total number of arrests across the three nights to five.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Chief Constable Sanford explained that officers had to move residents away for their safety.
“We did have people protesting in the Thetford area who were targeting addresses they believed were housing asylum seekers and on a couple of occasions that required us to escort the residents of those properties away for their safety,” he stated.
When asked about the potential consequences had officers not intervened, he noted, “I think it’s highly likely protesters would have got into the property and that would have been a significant problem and really threatened the safety of the occupants, and indeed the protesters themselves.”
The Conservative Party has been approached for comment.
