Reform UK Proposes Suspending Asylum System for Five Years, Deporting Thousands

Reform UK plans to suspend the United Kingdom's asylum system for five years and deport thousands of refugees if the party gains power, leader Nigel Farage is set to announce. The proposal would void all current asylum applications and scrap legal refugee routes and resettlement schemes.

A Reform government would not process the approximately 90,000 outstanding asylum and humanitarian protection appeals, opting instead to deport the claimants. Furthermore, the cases of refugees granted asylum within the last five years would be subject to review by the Home Office, potentially making around 400,000 individuals eligible for removal.

"The country is currently facing a national security emergency and the first duty of government is to protect its citizens," Farage stated. "We cannot accept more asylum seekers while we still have no idea how many people are in the country illegally and the threat they pose. A Reform government will always put British people first and protect our borders."

The party also proposes to close resettlement schemes, including those recently announced by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, which anticipate admitting Palestinians, as well as women and girls from Afghanistan. Reform asserts there is "no mandate" for such schemes and that participants would be deported.

In addition to suspending the asylum system, Reform UK intends to implement tariffs on countries that refuse to take back their nationals, a tactic described as "Donald-Trump-style." Foreign airlines could also face bans from British airspace as part of measures to address what the party calls "the invasion of our country."

Reform has previously proposed "visa freezes" for nationals from countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria if they do not accept deportees. This measure would halt new visas for citizens of these nations, as well as Eritrea, Sudan, and Somalia, due to the significant number of visas issued to them.

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp criticized Reform's proposals, stating they "largely copy" existing Conservative policies, such as banning asylum claims by illegal immigrants and closing immigration tribunals. He added that the Conservative plan includes leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and removing illegal immigrants within a week of arrival.

Labour characterized the proposals as a "clear sign of desperation and weakness." Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson accused Farage of seeking increasingly extreme policies and suggested the proposals were a "carbon copy" of another party's platform. She argued that abandoning those fleeing war and persecution would be rejected by the majority of British people as an assault on common values.