Reform UK leader brands illegal migration a “scourge” and pledges radical deportation crackdown

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has branded illegal immigration a “scourge” and vowed to launch the most radical crackdown in modern British politics, including mass deportations and a withdrawal from international human rights treaties.

Farage, speaking in London on Tuesday, said the country faced a “historic and unprecedented” crisis, claiming uncontrolled migration was undermining public order. He pledged that, under his party’s plans, every person entering the UK illegally would be detained, deported, and permanently barred from claiming asylum.

“Under these new plans, if you come to the UK illegally you will be ineligible for asylum. No ifs, no buts,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph, setting the stage for a confrontational political battle with Labour and the Conservatives.

He vowed to introduce a legal obligation on Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to remove people arriving illegally, reviving a controversial measure once attempted by the last Conservative government. Reform also wants to block any illegal arrivals from ever regularising their status in the UK.

Despite holding just four MPs, Reform’s popularity has surged in opinion polls, posing a growing challenge to the political establishment. Farage openly spoke about governing ambitions, insisting that his party’s ideas would resonate with voters fed up with what he called weak leadership on border control.

The latest Home Office figures reveal the scale of the issue. Nearly 28,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel since January. Since Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government came to power in July 2024, more than 50,000 people have entered the UK via small boats.

The government has made migration a defining test of its first term. A new Franco-British pilot scheme dubbed “one in, one out” has seen over 2,500 people intercepted and detained in just eleven days, with plans to return more than 100 arrivals to France. Ministers argue that such cooperation will restore order to an overwhelmed asylum system, but critics question whether it goes far enough.

On Monday, Labour announced reforms to the asylum appeals system, designed to reduce the number of migrants housed in hotels while they await rulings. The government is under pressure after a series of nationwide protests targeted the use of asylum hotels, exposing public frustration at the policy.

Farage dismissed Labour’s moves as too little, too late, accusing Sir Keir Starmer of siding with “human rights lawyers over the British people.” He also mocked Conservative criticism, claiming the Tories were simply angry that Reform had stolen their old immigration policies.

“The scourge of illegal migration that we have seen in this country over the last five years is historic and unprecedented,” Farage declared. “Politicians must put the UK first.”

Labour countered that Reform’s proposals were “written on the back of a fag packet” with no credible delivery plan. The Conservatives accused Farage of recycling ideas they had previously tried to implement.

For now, Farage remains on the offensive. With small boats continuing to cross the Channel and public concern mounting, he is betting that hard-line rhetoric on borders could propel his insurgent party to new political ground