Nigel Farage promises locals will be first in line for social housing if Reform wins Wales

Nigel Farage will use a speech in Port Talbot tomorrow to promise that a Reform government in Wales will ensure locals get social housing before migrants. The promise comes as Mr Farage officially kicks off his campaign to defeat Labour in Cardiff and win control of the Senedd at next year's devolved elections.

The Reform UK leader will outline the crucial Welsh elections as his next big target, with his party on course to make huge gains thanks to the country’s proportional voting system. Mr Farage is expected to announce plans to “end Labour’s 26 years of failure” in Wales, which stands as the longest continuous government of any party in Europe. He will unveil a new policy for the country, promising that a Reform government in Cardiff will ensure that Welshmen and women go to the front of the queue for social housing.

The Express can reveal Reform will also scrap Wales’ ‘nation of sanctuary status’, a core immigration plan of the current Labour administration that actively helps asylum seekers secure “good quality accommodation” in a country riven with an existing housing crisis.

The sanctuary status also obliges the government to provide access to English speaking classes, something Reform is already looking at cutting at English council level in order to save taxpayers’ cash.

A Reform UK Cardiff government will also crack down on woke waste in Wales, with an end to funding for the country’s existing £10.5 million equality, inclusion and human rights budget.

Mr Farage will unveil his action plan to defeat Labour tomorrow, citing last week’s Scottish Holyrood by-election as proof he can win in Wales.

The Hamilton MSP race was expected to be a two-horse race between the SNP and Labour, however Reform came from nowhere to secure an incredibly close third place, coming just 1,500 votes from winning their first Holyrood seat.

The most recent YouGov poll in Wales suggests Reform has already pushed Labour into third place, while the nationalist Plaid Cymru party are just five points ahead on 30%.

The Tories, meanwhile, are trailing in a poor fourth, on 13% of the vote.

Speaking from a hotel in Port Talbot tomorrow, Mr Farage will aim to put the squabbles of last week behind him after Zia Yusuf reserved his shock decision to resign.

Mr Farage will cite the steelworks of Port Talbot as an example of the decline of Wales, setting out a new long term ambition to reopen the refinery, while admitting it will not be “quick or easy”.

The man leading Britain’s most popular political party will aim much of his ire at Sir Keir Starmer, accusing the Prime Minister failing not just Britain as a whole but Wales in particular.

He will argue that Welsh Labour spent the previous 14 years blaming the Tory government in Westminster for their problems, however now Labour is also in power in SW1 “their excuse is gone and the game is up for them.”

Mr Farage will conclude that a vote for the Tories in Wales is a vote to save Keir Starmer from electoral humiliation.

Reform UK is hoping to reset their image this week after the turbulent resignation of Zia Yusuf last Thursday.

On Sunday Mr Yusuf announced he would be returning to Reform UK, though to run its waste-cutting DOGE programme rather than as party chairman.

Speaking to the media, the top Muslim businessman said he had quit out of frustration from online trolling by the hard right.

Taking to X, Mr Yusuf thanked the “huge number of lovely and heartfelt messages from people who have expressed their dismay at my resignation, urging me to reconsider”.

Mr Yusuf’s departure also came after a public spat about banning the burka, after MP Sarah Pochin used PMQs to call for an end to the muslim face covering.

The practising Muslim branded the question “dumb” on social media. However, it is understood he has privately apologised to Ms Pochin since the fallout.

On Saturday evening Mr Farage said he was “delighted” by Mr Yusuf’s return to Reform, adding he will “continue to be an important part of the team we are building to fight and win the next general election.”