Reform UK pledges to ban overseas students from claiming taxpayer-funded loans, and you’ll never guess what they already can’t claim – 14 resounding facepalms
If you want to see how Reform UK would run the country, take a quick glance in the direction of the councils they control.
Having pledged to make Doge-style cuts and bring down taxes, the Reform-run councils have made a number of council tax rises – 5% in Lancashire, 4.9% in North and West Northamptonshire, and an eye-watering 9% in Worcestershire, where the party volunteered to take minority control before Nigel Farage whinged that they shouldn’t have bothered.
Farage regrets move to run 'bankrupt' council https://t.co/i5Vj4osXON
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) March 13, 2026
Complaints about in-fighting, reduced services, and widespread racism and incompetence have dogged the party since its last local-election successes.
Reform UK ran a council for a year. Things went badly https://t.co/ecwOKHmzXR
— Financial Times (@FT) May 1, 2026
You don’t even have to see what they’ve been up to at a local level to appreciate their total unsuitability for high office. You only need to look at how poor they are on details.
Their leader has been shown to have broken the MPs’ code of conduct on numerous occasions due to failing to declare income, and is once again under scrutiny for not reporting a £5 million donation he received shortly before he u-turned on standing for parliament.
They’ve just demonstrated their failure to do their own research with an announcement of a policy to discourage overseas university students from studying in the UK.
British taxpayers are currently funding student loans for up to 300,000 foreign nationals living in the UK, at a cost of more than £4 billion each year.
Under a Reform UK government, foreign students will be banned from accessing taxpayer-funded student loans.…
— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) April 30, 2026
The party lined up to promote the idea, which they nicked from Restore Britain.
Foreign students to be banned from getting student loans under Reform
It’s a ponzi scheme ripping off the British taxpayer, £billions every year https://t.co/uVIbUnVe4M
— Richard Tice MP 🇬🇧 (@TiceRichard) April 29, 2026
Bonkers.
300,000 foreign nationals in the UK access student loans at a cost to taxpayers of more than £4 BILLION each year – much of which is unlikely to ever be repaid.
Under a Reform government, foreign students will be banned from accessing taxpayer-funded student loans.
— Matt Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) April 30, 2026
Too many universities are selling immigration, not education.
Last year, about 250,000 foreign students took up taxpayer-funded student loans to pay for their courses in the UK, worth £4bn.
This is not fair.
A @reformparty_uk government will make sure that the British… pic.twitter.com/GfjZVI6vGw
— Suella Braverman (@SuellaBraverman) April 30, 2026
Quite apart from the fact that overseas students are necessary to keep the universities afloat, and often bring valuable research with them, there was one glaring problem.
The only foreigners able to receive student loans are EU citizens with settled status. Most were either born here already or are already living/working/staying in the UK. Get your facts right Dickie and stop putting everyone in the same bag. Going to war with EU settled citizens…
— Reform Party Watch (@WatchReform) April 29, 2026
Yep – the Reform UK claims are utter BS. What a shocker! Overseas students have to get private loans, which can be arranged via the universities or separately. They’re planning to ban something that doesn’t happen.
Here’s how Twitter reacted.
1.
Not for the first fucking time, Reform don’t know what they’re talking about.
Foreign students are not entitled to student loans.
You utter idiots. https://t.co/v3siYt3cIF
— Zoe Gardner (@ZoeJardiniere) April 30, 2026
2.
Under the current UK Student Loans program, foreign students are already mostly ineligible, with a very small number of exclusions.
Pretty standard Reform, ‘fixing’ a thing that isn’t a problem, so long as they are being seen to go after foreigners. https://t.co/2Cd38S76Do
— John O'Connell (@jdpoc) April 29, 2026
3.
To illustrate this video, Braverman has used an image of some Chinese students celebrating their graduation.
Students from China cannot access student loans.
This is a fact. https://t.co/XosOl2191v— Ferret (@Ferretgrove) April 30, 2026
4.
How can you ban international students from accessing student loans when they were NEVER ELIGIBLE for it in the first place? 😂 https://t.co/LkHTFzi9gO
— Tomi (@Sikowitz17) April 30, 2026
5.
When you finally tell the truth will a balloon float out of a cardboard box???
— Stuzi 🐝🐝 (@stuzi_pants) April 30, 2026
6.
Why why and why? Why you spreading misinformation again and again and again? pic.twitter.com/zpcrcrznHF
— MIMIR 🟢 (@thereal_mimir) April 29, 2026
7.
All Reform does is lie, lie, and lie again.
International students do not have access to student loans, despite paying far more than home students in tuition fees.
They pay their own fees, pay visa fees, pay NHS surcharge, work restricted hours, and still get used as a…
— BABZZ (@DonempireMUFC) May 1, 2026
8.
Suella is literally making up numbers for the vibes.
The 250,000 foreign students she is talking about are actually EU nationals with Pre-Settled status who were already living here before Brexit. They have a legal right to loans.
Actual international students from the rest…
— 🇬🇧King 🇬🇧 (@King0243_PJC) April 30, 2026
9.
But everybody knows International Students have no recourse to public funds…they have to pay their own tuition fees and can only work 20 hours a week during term time… https://t.co/SL7qB3taeN
— Harjap Singh Bhangal (@HarjapBhangal) April 30, 2026
10.
Any evidence of this? Or is it as you suggested, bonkers as in made up because you spout the latest talking points to avoid public scrutiny on Richard’s taxes and Nigel’s undeclared gift and house he didn’t purchase.
— Nitro (@Nitro_535) April 30, 2026
11.
Talking about tax payers, pay your fucking taxes. pic.twitter.com/Nv9YHR6IZ9
— Mark Owen🏴 (@Mark73Owen) April 30, 2026
12.
Richard Tice seems very concerned about ‘ripping off’ the British tax paper.
Richard Tice should look in a f*cking mirror. https://t.co/2Cd38S76Do
— John O'Connell (@jdpoc) April 29, 2026
13.
Choosing to use the word “foreign” when the specific demographic is EU students with settled status is a choice. Because “foreign” invokes browner imaginaries. https://t.co/nbbdF1ycGa
— Chisomo Kalinga, PhD (@ChisomoWrites) April 30, 2026
14.
These are the cheap lies and propaganda Reform sells to the people.
Foreign students are not even eligible for student loans in the UK.
Student loan is mainly for UK residents with settled status.
Foreign students typically pay upfront, rely on family support or use private… https://t.co/a4U25U3ZX7
— citykush (@citykush1) April 30, 2026
Some suspected the party knew very well what they were doing.
Oh they know, they just know lying has worked for a decade now.
— Chris Taps (@MrChrisTaps) April 30, 2026
Others were not so sure.
I dunno you know, I think they’re actually arrogant enough not to bother knowing.
— Zoe Gardner (@ZoeJardiniere) April 30, 2026
There’s probably a 52%-48% split.
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