Farage vows mass deportations to tackle small boats

Reform UK is pledging mass deportations of asylum seekers who arrive in the UK in small boats.

The party’s leader – Nigel Farage – has told The Times that there is a “massive crisis” in the UK, which threatens national security and could lead to public disorder.

Under the plans, people could be arrested on arrival, detained on disused RAF bases and, if agreements were reached, returned to Afghanistan, Eritrea and other countries that are significant sources of arrivals.

Many of these measures could face legal challenges and political opposition. Labour has branded them “pie in the sky”, while the Conservatives said Reform were recycling their ideas.

Reform said the plans would cost £10bn over five years, but would save the government money as it would not be spending money on asylum hotels and other costs.

Under the proposed Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill, Farage’s party would consider sending migrants to British overseas territories like Ascension Island as a “fallback” option.

It would also consider using “third countries” like Rwanda and Albania to house asylum seekers.

The previous Conservative government’s Rwanda scheme was beset by legal challenges and saw just four people sent there before it was ended by the Labour government.

Farage told the Times that if people know they will be detained and deported they will stop coming “very quickly”.

“The aim of this legislation is mass deportations,” he told the Times.

“We have a massive crisis in Britain. It is not only posing a national security threat but it’s leading to public anger that frankly is not very far away from disorder.

“There is only one way to stop people coming into Britain and that is to detain them and deport them.”

Farage also wants to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The ECHR was established in 1950 and sets out the rights and freedoms people are entitled to in the 46 signatory countries.

The treaty is a central part of UK human rights law and has been used to halt attempts to deport migrants who are deemed to be in the UK illegally.

The government faces growing pressure over immigration, with a record 111,000 asylum applications made to the UK during the year to June.

Figures released by the Home Office this week said that despite increased applications, spending on asylum in the UK was down by 12%.

The total stood at £4.76bn in the year ending March 2025, down from £5.38bn the previous year.

Those figures cover Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash support and accommodation, but not costs relating to intercepting migrants crossing the Channel.

Small boat arrivals saw a 38% increase from the previous year, with more than half of those arrivals from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Syria.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that Labour had “inherited a broken immigration and asylum system that the previous government left in chaos”.

She said the new government had strengthened immigration controls and “sharply increased” enforcement and returns.

Responding to the Reform leader’s proposals, Angela Eagle, Labour’s border security minister, said: “Nigel Farage is simply plucking numbers out of the air, another pie in the sky policy from a party that will say anything for a headline.”

“We are getting a grip of the broken asylum system,” she added. “Making sure those with no right to be here are removed or deported.”

The Conservatives said Reform UK was recycling their ideas.

“This big reveal is just recycling many ideas the Conservatives have already announced,” said shadow home secretary Chris Philp.

“Nigel Farage previously claimed mass deportations were impossible, and now he says it’s his policy,” Philp added. “Who knows what he’ll say next.”