Reform has declared a crackdown on asylum and HMOs - what they can actually do

Reform UK were the big winners of last week’s local elections, taking control of 14 councils in England, including ten that Labour previously led.

They were Havering, Barnsley, Calderdale, Gateshead, Sandwell, South Tyneside, St Helens, Sunderland, Wakefield and Thurrock.

Immigration policy was once again at the heart of Reform’s campaign, with leader Nigel Farage announcing a week before polls opened that his party planned to deport 288,000 “illegal migrants” a year.

Arsenal fans celebrate Premier League title – the story in pictures

What we know about Married at First Sight UK rape allegations

Will we see a heatwave this bank holiday weekend?

The average income of British retirees revealed

Arsenal fans rejoice at Premier League title win

Jubilant Arsenal fans have been celebrating in style after their club won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.Supporters outside Emirates Stadium and nearby pub rejoiced after Manchester City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth – a result which handed Mikel Arteta’s side the title.

Gunners joy at title victory

Arsenal squad gathers to celebrate

The Arsenal squad rejoiced together at their training ground at the final whistle in Man City’s match, dancing and chanting: “Campeones, Campeones, Ole Ole Ole!” Captain Declan Rice posted a message on Instagram: “It’s done.”

One fan outside the Emirates said it was “the best day of my life.” Another Gunners supporter told the BBC: “I’ve got a can of lager from 2021 commemorating the 1971 double. I said I wasn’t drinking it until Arsenal won the league. It’s five years out of date, wish me luck.”

Club legend Ian Wright was spotted celebrating the title win with fans outside the stadium. Arsenal fan Keir Starmer posted on X that “we’re back where we belong. Champions!” Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, a fellow Gunners supporter, said it was “22 years in the making”. Formula 1 legend Lewis Hamilton added: “Come On You Gunners.”

Fans get to celebrate all over again when their team lifts the Premier League trophy after the Crystal Palace match on Sunday.

They are also now dreaming of a famous double, with Arsenal up against PSG in the Champions League final on 30 May.

The four ways Arteta transformed Arsenal from bottlers to champions

What we know about Married at First Sight UK rape allegations

Channel 4 has removed all seasons of Married at First Sight UK from its platforms following “very serious allegations” made against some former stars.Two women have alleged that they were raped during the filming of the show. A third has alleged a non-consensual sex act.

One woman alleged in a BBC Panorama programme that her chosen husband raped her and threatened her with an acid attack.

A second alleged that she was also raped by her husband. She also claims she told Channel 4 and independent producer CPL before broadcast, but the show still aired.

A third woman alleged that her onscreen husband engaged in a non-consensual sex act.

Channel 4 cuts back disgraced Mandelson from Blair documentary

How has Channel 4 responded?

Channel 4’s removal of the show from its platforms follows an external review launched in April into the welfare of participants. The broadcaster was presented with serious allegations “against a small number of past contributors, allegations that we understand those contributors have denied,” it said in a statement. The channel said “prompt and appropriate action was taken” related to concerns over welfare protocols.

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What do MPs say?

Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport committee, said the allegations were “deeply shocking”.

The Conservative MP said the premise of the show, which sees single people “marry” strangers who they meet on their mock wedding day, was “horrifying”.

Labour security minister Dan Jarvis said the allegations were “deeply concerning”.

Will we see a heatwave this bank holiday weekend?

Britons have been told to prepare for hot weather this bank holiday weekend, with some parts of the country set to see temperatures rise as high as 28°C.

Which areas could get a heatwave?

Temperatures could reach 28°C in the south-east of England on Friday, with conditions set to be mostly sunny and dry.

Some places could see a heatwave on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A heatwave is three days in a row with temperatures at a regional threshold.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire appear most likely to hit the threshold, say forecasters.

It’s not all good news: forecasters have warned that some parts of the country could see rain because of the humidity.

Some parts of Scotland, Wales and the west of England could see showers on Saturday. The south of England could get rain on Sunday.

Our homes will hit 35°C – this is how to climate-proof your house

What’s causing warm spell?

Meteorologists said a change in the wind direction was behind the spike in temperatures ahead.Wind had been blowing from the north during last week’s cold snap. South-westerly winds from the Atlantic have dominated at the start of this week. And later in the week, the wind from the south will bring warmer weather.

The average British retiree falls short of moderate lifestyle

The typical pensioner in the UK does not have enough income to live comfortably, new research has found.

What does average pensioner live on?

This is how much the average tax-paying pensioner between 65 and 69 lives on.

This is according to an analysis of 2024 HMRC figures by AJ Bell.

This is how much the average tax-paying pensioner between 70 and 74 lives on.

This is according to an analysis of 2024 HMRC figures by AJ Bell.

What you need for moderate lifestyle

An individual pensioner needs £31,300 a year for a moderate standard of living, according to Retirement Living Standards research by Loughborough University.

A pensioner couple need £43,100 a year to live to a moderate standard, the Retirement Living Standards research discovered.

The good news and bad news

Average pensioner incomes fall “well short” of what the average Brit is hoping for, said Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell.

Women are even more stretched than men in retirement. Women aged 65 to 69 received an average of £23,000, while men received £29,600.

However, the standards are a “fairly blunt instrument”, said Coles, because they don’t take into account the income you are used to while you’re working.

Watch more from The i Paper

@theipaper The Parliamentary Standards watchdog has launched a probe into the £5m ‘gift’ from businessman Christopher Harborne to Nigel Farage in 2024. A Reform UK spokesman said: “Mr Farage’s office is in communications with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. He has always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken. We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all.” nigelfarage reformuk ukpolitics ♬ original sound – The i Paper – The i Paper

The Parliamentary Standards watchdog has launched a probe into the £5m ‘gift’ from businessman Christopher Harborne to Nigel Farage in 2024. A Reform UK spokesman said: “Mr Farage’s office is in communications with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. He has always been clear that this was a personal, unconditional gift and no rules were broken. We look forward to this being put to bed once and for all.” nigelfarage reformuk ukpolitics

Farage also claimed Reform-run councils could stop housing thousands of asylum seekers who arrive in Britain under government resettlement schemes.

Exactly who Reform would define as an illegal migrant remains unclear, although it is already a criminal offence to arrive in the UK without a valid visa. Around half of all asylum seekers in the UK arrive illegally, according to government figures.

The i Paper looks at what the data says, both for the country as a whole and for the places where Reform has won power, as well as at potential actions the party may take.

Asylum numbers are increasing across the UK

Asylum seekers made up around 12 per cent of all migrants to the UK in 2024, according to research published by the House of Commons Library.

However, the country is currently experiencing a significant spike in the number of asylum seeker applications – the scale of which has not been seen since the early 2000s.

After hitting a peak of 84,100 in 2002, applications dropped to below 30,000 per year for most of the following two decades, before rising steeply in the period following the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Last year, there were 82,100 applications.

A separate analysis of Home Office data by The i Paper shows the total number of asylum seekers being supported by the Government was 107,003 in December 2025.

The nationalities most represented are Pakistan (11 per cent), Eritrea (9 per cent), Iran (7 per cent), Afghanistan (6 per cent) and Bangladesh (6 per cent).

These people are living in virtually all corners of the UK, although there is a significant variation in how many have arrived in different towns and cities.

The places with the highest total number of asylum seekers include Glasgow (3,835), Birmingham (2,637), Liverpool (2,189), Hillingdon in London (2,133) and Coventry (1,719).

This works out as a tiny fraction of the total population in these areas.

In Glasgow, for example, asylum seekers account for only 0.59 per cent of the population looked after by the city council.

However, analysis by The i Paper does show there is a regional imbalance.

Of the 20 places looking after the highest proportion of asylum seekers relative to their population, 17 are in areas of the North and Midlands with high levels of deprivation.

In Hyndburn, a small authority in Lancashire with entrenched levels of poverty, there are 418 asylum seekers, which works out as 0.48 per cent of the population.

By comparison, Tonbridge and Malling, an affluent borough in Kent, has a population of 136,853 and is looking after only six asylum seekers.

There are 26.5 asylum seekers receiving support in the North West for every 10,000 people, compared to 7.4 in the south-east.

… but not always in areas with big Reform vote

Although the number of asylum seekers in the UK has significantly increased since 2021, only a handful of areas most affected correlate with Reform victories in May’s elections.

In Sandwell, where Reform gained 41 seats and Labour lost 32 seats, there are 1,595 asylum seekers.This works out at 0.45 per cent of the population and is an increase of 61 per cent since 2019, when there were 980.

In South Tyneside, 625 asylum seekers are being supported, just 0.41 per cent of the population.This is a 43 per cent increase since 2019, when 273 people lived there.

In contrast, in Havering, where Reform gained 38 seats and control of the council, the number of asylum seekers has decreased from 312 in 2019 to 178.

It is the same story in Barnsley, where the number of asylum seekers has fallen from 459 in 2019 to 277 in 2025.

Reform still managed to overturn Labour’s grip on power in the South Yorkshire town, which had lasted more than 50 years.

At a national level, Reform has promised to tackle illegal immigration by deporting larger numbers of people it deems should not be in the country, but local election victories do not give the party any power to do this.

At a local level, the party has promised to take action against accommodation being used to house asylum seekers.

Labour has already pledged to close all hotels currently being used to house asylum seekers by 2029.

But Farage has claimed this will simply mean they are moved into alternative accommodation, such as Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs), and the party has vowed to crack down on HMOs in areas under its control.

The ‘myths’ around HMO crackdown

Councils across the country have already begun tightening up their planning rules on HMOs, which have surged in popularity in the UK in recent years.

The i Paper has revealed how the vast majority of HMOs have nothing to do with asylum seekers, with developers providing housing for students and young professionals complaining that they feel unfairly caught in a political battle.

Paul Preston, a HMO landlord in Chorley, Lancashire, said: “As soon as it’s out there that ‘this is going to be a migrant hotel’ it’s difficult to shake that.”

Nevertheless, Reform candidates in many places have promised to crack down on HMOs.

In Sandwell, the council’s public register shows that 446 properties are registered as HMOs, including 164 where Serco, the company that provides accommodation to asylum seekers, is the licence holder.

However, a report commissioned by the council estimated it was likely that there were more than 3,000 HMOs in the borough due to the fact that the majority were smaller properties that did not need a licence.

In South Tyneside, the previous Labour council already introduced an Article 4 direction, which means that all HMOs require planning permission.

But when making a public announcement, the council addressed several “myths” around HMOs, including the idea that they are “just for asylum seekers”.

The council’s social media post read: “FACT: HMOs support many people – students, key workers, and those rebuilding after tough times. They’re not just for one group.”

In Sunderland, another area where Reform displaced Labour, new leader Chris Enyon claimed a link between the average wait for a council house in the city, which is now 13 months and a recent increase in asylum seekers.

“Is it to blame for everything? No, but… asylum claims, people who are coming here or just being housed at taxpayer expense, that’s kind of a real big point of contention with residents,” he told The i Paper.

When asked what powers the council has at its disposal when it comes to asylum seekers, Enyon said: “I think anything’s possible if you have the political will.”