Outrage as Labour London council promotes social housing to ‘migrants who can’t even speak English’ – before quietly taking down video

A Labour-led London council has sparked outrage after sharing a video advertising social housing “to migrants” in multiple foreign languages – before quietly taking it down.

Westminster City Council, in the heart of the capital, announced its new housing allocation scheme in English, Arabic, Bengali, Spanish, and French in a video on social media.

The scheme, it says, “aims to make allocating social housing more transparent and prioritise those facing multiple challenges”.

But its apparent promotion to non-English-speakers has left onlookers “flabbergasted” and asking questions over whether people who “can’t speak English in Westminster” should be given taxpayer-funded housing in the first place.

The scheme has come under particular scrutiny given the soaring rental costs in the borough – as The Telegraph’s Sam Ashworth-Hayes pointed out to GB News, the average price for a two-bedroom flat in Westminster sits at some £3,200 per month.

But as part of its social housing scheme, the council charges £677 – a subsidy of around £31,000 every year.

Reacting to the video, Neil Garratt, who leads the Conservatives at the London Assembly, told GB News: “Government services in English provide the incentive to learn the language and integrate into society.

“People will be flabbergasted that huge taxpayer housing subsidies are actively promoted to people who have arrived here without even learning English – when so many young working people in London feel utterly priced out of our great city.”

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William Yarwood, media campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, offered a similar sentiment.

He told GB News: “Taxpayers are tired of being squeezed to fund social housing for migrants.

“Thousands of hardworking young people are struggling to afford homes in London, often crammed into rooms no bigger than a shoebox, while migrants who can’t even speak English are being handed prime real estate.

“Social housing should be prioritised for British citizens, not economically inactive migrants.”

The video was then taken down – with Ashworth-Hayes suggesting this was due to the “social media backlash” – sparking fury from Reform UK’s Rupert Lowe.

He said: “Why has Westminster Council posted, then deleted, a video about social housing which was translated into a number of languages?

“If people can’t speak English in Westminster, they shouldn’t be given social housing. Nor should any translation be provided.”

Westminster City Council says the new scheme, meant to arrive in February next year, introduces “a new band system to more openly reflect the needs and circumstances of those waiting for social housing”.

It also says it “gives greater priority to households facing severe or multiple challenges, by bringing in new priority groups to reflect this”.

A spokesman for the council told GB News: “The council complies with the national criteria for allocating council homes to our local residents prioritising those with the greatest need.

“We provide translations into commonly spoken languages to ensure anyone entitled to apply for social housing is able to understand and follow the process.”