Far-right leader Farage proposes detention on arrival, overseas transfers, and withdrawal from human rights treaties.
On Saturday, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announced his intentions to implement mass deportations of asylum seekers if he gains power. This statement comes as he leads in polling intentions, reports 24brussels.
Farage proposed that asylum seekers arriving in small boats should be automatically detained upon their arrival in the United Kingdom and forcibly deported to countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea. This plan, included in an interview with The Times, aims to tackle the increasing number of asylum seekers housed in hotels across the country.
He also committed to establishing agreements with third countries, reviving cooperation with Rwanda, and utilizing British overseas territories like Ascension Island for the resettlement of asylum seekers. Farage indicated that these measures could lead to the deportation of hundreds of thousands of individuals, with daily charter flights leaving the UK.
Additionally, he stated that a Reform UK government would withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, repeal the Human Rights Act, and introduce laws prohibiting asylum applications for individuals arriving in small boats. Farage emphasized that these legislative measures are essential to address what he termed a crisis threatening national security and provoking public discontent.
“The purpose of this legislation is mass deportations. We have a massive crisis in the United Kingdom. It not only represents a threat to national security, but it is provoking public outrage that, frankly, is not very far from disorder. There is only one way to stop people entering the United Kingdom: stop them and deport them,” Farage stated.
He labeled this period as his decisive moment for the UK, stressing the need for profound transformation to address the country’s rapid decline. Farage claimed that illegal migrants would be accommodated in disused military bases, suggesting the possibility of constructing prefabricated buildings for their housing. He reassured that those detained would be treated civilly, provided with food, medical attention, and basic care.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government grapples with escalating tensions surrounding the accommodation of asylum seekers in various towns and the record influx of individuals crossing the English Channel in small boats this year. The previous Conservative government had negotiated a deal to send irregular migrants to Rwanda, a plan that was abandoned following Labour’s ascent to power in July 2024.
Protests against the housing of migrants in hotels have intensified, particularly in Epping Forest after Ethiopian migrant Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatuhursday, 38, was charged with sexual assault following an alleged incident involving a 14-year-old girl at one of these facilities.
A recent YouGov poll indicated Reform UK with a 28% approval rating, followed by Labour at 21% and the Conservatives at 17%. The poll surveyed 1,869 adults across the nation in recent weeks.
