Reform UK has set out its most hardline immigration policies to date, promising to immediately deport 90,000 asylum seekers, impose a five-year ban on new grants of asylum and review the status of everyone granted protection since 2024. Nigel Farage announced the plans at a press conference in Kent on Monday, where he confirmed that children and mothers would not be exempt from deportation.
Nigel Farage announced the policies in front of a replica of the type of inflatable boat he said is now being used to cross the Channel. Asked whether children would be exempt, he said: “If you allow Palestinian or Afghan women to come as well as children, that may well sound compassionate given the circumstances in that country. However, as soon as you do that you open the door to family reunions, to husbands coming, to partners coming, before you know it you have plenty of young men coming as well.”
Under the proposals, new asylum claims would be automatically rejected and failed applicants would be returned either to their home countries or a safe third country. A Reform government would impose tariffs, visa bans or airspace restrictions on countries refusing to accept the return of asylum seekers. All legal resettlement routes would be abolished except those set up for Ukrainians following the 2022 Russian invasion.
A 17-page policy document envisages the “embedding” of immigration enforcement throughout the state, adding immigration checks to food safety, housing and licensing inspections. People targeted for deportation would be identified from data on water or electricity usage, “aerial imaging” and complaints from neighbours.
Zia Yusuf, the party's would-be home secretary, said Reform planned to deport “north of 1 million people” but insisted the party was “not in the business of sending people to be killed or tortured”, pointing to “third-country options” for “edge cases”.
Refugee charities condemned the plans as “unworkable” and an abandonment of Britain's tradition of helping victims of war. The Home Office also disputed a key justification: home secretary Shabana Mahmood said last month that approximately a quarter of arrivals under the reopened UK Resettlement Scheme will be Afghan women and girls fleeing Taliban rule and Palestinians who fled Gaza. A Home Office source said Farage was mistaken in his claim, as those arriving under the scheme will not have reunion rights.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- If implemented, the policy would be one of the most sweeping changes to British asylum law in decades, affecting people already living in the UK, including children and families.
- It would end nearly all legal resettlement routes and push immigration enforcement into everyday state functions such as food safety, housing and licensing inspections.
- The policy is being contested before it is enacted: the Home Office has publicly disputed the claims used to justify it.
Background
Immigration has been one of the defining fault lines in British politics, with small boat Channel crossings and the asylum backlog dominating debate in recent years. Reform UK, which campaigns on steep cuts to immigration, framed Monday's announcement as the answer to that issue. The plan goes beyond measures pursued by previous governments by proposing the removal of people already granted protection, and by suggesting enforcement based on surveillance-style data including utility usage and aerial imaging.
Key Perspectives
Reform UK: The party argues the policy is necessary to stop the asylum system being abused. Farage contended that humanitarian exemptions for women and children would create routes for family reunion and more young men arriving, and Yusuf insisted the party was not seeking to send people to be killed or tortured, pointing to third-country options for edge cases.
The Home Office: Rejects a key justification. Mahmood has said about a quarter of UK Resettlement Scheme arrivals will be Afghan women and girls and Palestinians from Gaza, but a Home Office source said those arrivals will not have reunion rights, contradicting Farage's claims.
Refugee charities and critics: Condemned the plans as unworkable and a break with Britain's tradition of protecting victims of war, noting the practical difficulties of mass deportation and the reliance on foreign governments to accept returnees.
What to Watch
- Whether the proposals are formally written into Reform UK's platform ahead of the next general election.
- Which countries, if any, would agree to accept deportees under the proposed third-country arrangements.
- How rival parties respond, and whether the policy shifts the broader political debate on immigration enforcement.
- Legal and practical scrutiny of the proposed data-based methods for identifying deportation targets.