Reform UK has announced plans to deport 600,000 migrants over five years if the party wins power at the next election. The proposal, dubbed Operation Restoring Justice, would see anyone who arrives in the UK on a small boat barred from claiming asylum.
According to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, the only way to stop small boats crossing the English Channel is by detaining and deporting people who come via that route. He claims that if this plan were implemented, the boats would stop coming in days due to the lack of incentive.
The proposal has been met with criticism from Labour, which has branded it unworkable, while the Conservatives have accused Reform of copying their earlier plans. Reform UK is proposing to build removal centres and detain up to 24,000 people within 18 months.
The party says that a significant proportion of these migrants would come from future arrivals, as well as those already living in the country illegally. However, it has accepted that its estimate may be an attempt to “count the uncountable”.
Farage claims that Australian policies show mass deportation programmes can be effective in stopping people coming to Britain illegally in the future. Reform UK’s policy would amount to a huge increase in deportations and goes further than any previous plans outlined by other political parties.
The plan includes building removal centres, seeking detention in remote areas of the country, and using British overseas territories as a “fallback” if people awaiting deportation cannot be sent elsewhere. A £2bn fund will be made available to offer payments or aid to countries that take back migrants.
Reform UK says that migrants would have the option to return voluntarily and receive £2,500 for doing so as part of a “carrot and stick approach”. The party estimates that the plan would cost around £10bn over five years but claims it would save money in the long term.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yk4r5e514o