Reform UK has launched a mobile game designed to simulate repelling Channel migrants, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the Labour Party.
The game, titled 'Small Boat Scramble,' is part of the party's 'Small Boat Watch' app, which tracks the number of migrants arriving on UK shores and estimates the taxpayer cost associated with managing the crossings. In the game, players take command of a Royal Navy vessel with the objective of stopping boats from reaching Britain.
Reform UK stated that the app provides users with a straightforward way to understand the scale and cost of Channel crossings, asserting that successive Conservative and Labour governments have failed to secure the borders. The party claims that if elected, it would deploy the Royal Navy to stop the boats within its first 100 days.
The 'Small Boat Scramble' game offers a prize of £5,000 to the player with the highest score over the next month. Reform UK's home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, defended the app, stating, "Small Boat Watch puts the facts in the hands of the public. People shouldn't have to rely on politicians' promises to understand the scale of this crisis. And Small Boat Scramble lets people have a bit of fun with a very serious issue."
Labour, however, condemned the initiative, with a party spokesperson calling it a "distraction" from ongoing financial controversies surrounding Reform UK. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police are investigating allegations that senior Reform figures discussed ways to disguise foreign donations, following a report by Channel 4 News. Nigel Farage, the party's leader, is also facing an inquiry by Parliament's standards watchdog over a substantial gift he received.
"While Reform play games, this Labour Government is bearing down on small boat crossings, with arrivals this summer at their lowest level for six years," the Labour spokesperson said. "Nigel Farage is scrambling yet again to distract from the sleaze and scandal engulfing Reform UK - and the multiple police investigations into the party's finances. Instead of stunts and gimmicks, he should come clean and answer the serious questions facing his party."
Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson echoed these sentiments, labeling the game "stupid" and a tactic to divert attention from what he described as the failures of Brexit policies.
Nathan Phillips, head of campaigns at Asylum Matters, described the gamification of migrant arrivals as a "sickening new low," criticizing the offer of cash rewards for high scores. He stated that this demonstrated "how far towards the dehumanisation of people seeking safety our political discourse has fallen."
The 'Small Boat Watch' app also details the estimated costs to British taxpayers, with Reform UK arguing that nearly 210,000 people have crossed the Channel illegally since 2018. The party has pledged to stop the boats if it gains power.