Bradford’s Reform administration is set to table three formal motions at next month’s council meeting, with the most controversial calling for the city to abandon its Local Authority of Sanctuary designation.
The proposals centre on redirecting council resources toward existing residents rather than extending support to newcomers.
Opposition members have responded with sharp criticism.
Green Party Councillor Hawarun Hussain, who serves as Deputy Leader of the group on Bradford Council, described the initiative as empty gesture politics.
According to Hussain, abandoning sanctuary status would not resolve a single service shortfall for any Bradford resident.
The council currently faces a requirement to identify savings totalling £50 million within this financial year, a challenge the Green representative suggested Reform should prioritise addressing rather than pursuing symbolic policy changes.
Hussain claimed those truly depleting national resources were foreign-based corporations and billionaires, noting that such entities had provided Reform with millions in funding.
Fellow Green Party member Councillor Matt Edwards, who leads the group in Bradford, questioned the consistency of the Reform announcement with the council leader’s stated commitment to cross-party cooperation.
Edwards observed that while Councillor Stephen Place had repeatedly insisted he was not engaging in party politics and wished to collaborate with other groups, the language of the announcement appeared deliberately provocative toward anyone holding differing views.
Edwards speculated that perhaps Place’s reference to working with other parties meant only the Conservative Group, which had supported Reform on nearly every significant decision since May.
City of Sanctuary representatives offered an extensive defence of the programme.
A spokesperson clarified that the initiative was fundamentally about Bradford residents, since individuals who settled in the city subsequently became neighbours, colleagues, business owners, volunteers and community leaders.
The programme exercised no control over housing allocations or placement decisions, which remained the responsibility of national government.
Rather, the designation ensured that people already integrated into communities could rebuild their lives, contribute skills and participate fully in civic life.
The arrangement helped councils coordinate existing services, strengthen partnerships and improve efficiency, benefiting everyone requiring support.
Bradford first achieved recognition as a City of Sanctuary in 2010, with the council awarding itself Local Authority of Sanctuary status in 2021.
The designation was intended to elevate the city’s reputation as a welcoming location where migrant communities could establish themselves, with the council facilitating access to services such as English language tuition and organising events for refugees and those seeking sanctuary.
Labour Group Leader Imran Khan accused Reform of abandoning promises made to Bradford residents during the summer and retreating to familiar tactics of grievance and division.
Khan stated the proposal would assist no one within the district.
He emphasised that councils bore statutory obligations to support all individuals in need.
The initiative represented vice-signalling that would harm integration, promote division and foster resentment without benefiting anyone.
Khan described sanctuary status as cost-free while enabling refugees to integrate into British society, characterising this as a proud and longstanding national tradition.
Reform UK Group outlined their position through a formal statement.
Since acquiring Local Authority of Sanctuary status, the council had been required to provide supplementary assistance to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
In recent years, the authority had led Refugee Week activities and employed local library facilities to celebrate new arrivals.
Reform proposed withdrawing from the status on the basis that limited resources should not be allocated to non-statutory commitments when public services for Bradford residents required prioritisation.
The party also intends to present a motion addressing the needs of white working-class children and requesting government priority in addressing their circumstances.
A further proposal seeks to implement an Article 4 Direction across the Bradford District to restrict the expansion of Houses in Multiple Occupation.
When questioned, a Reform representative acknowledged the party could not provide an estimate of the financial cost associated with maintaining sanctuary status.
Councillor Jayne Morgan, who holds the executive brief for Healthy People, stated that the motions might unsettle overly sensitive political adversaries but served the genuine interests of the public.
Council Leader Stephen Place indicated that Reform councillors had been elected to pursue different approaches and reverse the decline the district had experienced under the previous Labour administration.
Place stressed that the primary obligation was to Bradford residents, requiring public services to be prioritised for local people who lived, worked and raised families in the area.
This approach also meant confronting issues that had been neglected for extended periods, including what Place characterised as encouragement of illegal immigration through taxpayer-funded provisions and the disadvantage experienced by white working-class children.