Housing First could be the answer to Labour's Farage problem
(Credit: Simon Dack / Alamy)
4 min read
Just over a year ago, Labour was elected to government on promises of change, restoring trust, rebuilding communities and tackling social injustice.
One year on, Labour’s net approval rating has cratered to -39, while Starmer's own personal one stands at a very poor -44.
Labour faces a political storm on several fronts but perhaps none more challenging than immigration, a faultline Nigel Farage repeatedly exploits. Farage’s plan for mass deportations is his latest attempt at landing a decisive political blow, accusing Keir Starmer of taking the side of illegal immigrants instead of British women and children.
In a media landscape in which the government can feel like it is drowning in bad news, Housing First is a life raft
Despite the controversy of Farage’s claims, his message captures the angry public mood. Increasingly, newspaper editorials and TV debates echo the safe refrain: “Whose side is the government on?”
Reform's hardline rhetoric – from mass deportations to scrapping human rights protections – is gaining traction amid media stories of overcrowded asylum hotels and local protests. Arguments are raging in public discourse over why Britain can afford to house people who arrive via small boat but cannot do the same for our homeless veterans.
Farage’s narrative is powerful because it plays on both emotion and asymmetry – even more potent political weapons in an era of instant gratification, 15-second videos and headline-grabbing statements. The government could draw from these tactics to demonstrate that it has a positive and progressive vision for the country – and to show the electorate it is on their side.
Take the scandal of the thousands of British citizens, including ex-servicemen and women, sleeping on our streets. A progressive weapon to fight Farage could be a radical agenda on homelessness.
The Centre for Social Justice has published a plan that would take over 5,500 rough sleepers off the streets by the next election. At its heart is scaling up a programme called Housing First, a proven service that flips the traditional model of tackling homelessness on its head.
Instead of requiring people to address problems like addiction, debt and mental health before they can access stable housing, Housing First starts with a home. Support services, healthcare, employment advice, recovery programmes are then wrapped around that person once they are safely housed.
It recognises that a secure front door is the foundation from which everything else becomes possible. The CSJ plan provides a clear and pragmatic case to expand Housing First across every English region, putting Britain back on track to ending homelessness by the end of the parliament.
The CSJ estimates that rolling out a national programme would cost £103m over four years, but every £1 invested would return £2 in expected benefits. It would cut demand on A&E, policing, prisons, hostels and temporary accommodation, and the upfront cost could be covered by scrapping expensive Civil Service relocation expenses and redirecting a fraction of the rough sleeping grant recently expanded by Angela Rayner.
When nearly £1bn is being spent each year on short-term, sticking-plaster solutions with little to no result, what the CSJ proposes is a steal. Housing First is by far the most effective and evidenced base intervention to end homelessness. And it would deliver a tangible and visible reduction in rough sleeping across the country.
This is exactly the kind of flagship good news story Labour needs. It rebuts the narrative of unfairness on the ground by showing the government is genuinely tackling injustices, starting with the people trapped in long-term homelessness at the sharp end of the housing crisis.
Housing First has already succeeded in pilots in Liverpool, Manchester and the West Midlands. Don’t take my word for it: ask the Finnish, whose government showed at least 80 per cent of people being successfully housed in permanent accommodation compared to traditional hostels or temporary shelters, slashing rates of antisocial behaviour along the way.
It offers visual, emotional and measurable impact; homes found, lives changed, and budgets saved. For a government seeking national renewal, guaranteeing that no veteran ever sleeps rough again is a powerful place to begin.
In a media landscape in which the government can feel like it is drowning in bad news, Housing First is a life raft Keir Starmer can use to steady his government and demonstrate to voters that he is on their side.
Matthew Torbitt is a senior fellow at the Centre for Social Justice and a former Labour adviser
