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Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain's hard-right Reform UK party, said Tuesday that if he wins the next election he will leave the European human rights convention and immediately detain and deport anyone who arrives in the country illegally.
Farage laid out his plans to tackle illegal immigration following a significant rise in the number of migrants who arrive by boats across the English Channel, and weeks of protests over the government's use of hotels to house asylum-seekers.
Despite holding just four of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, Farage 's party has gained momentum by seizing on public frustration over successive governments' inability to bring down the number of migrants coming by boat. National polls have suggested that support for Reform equals or surpasses that of the ruling Labour Party and the Conservatives.
“If you come to the U.K. illegally, you will be detained and deported and never, ever allowed to stay, period," Farage told a press conference.
“The mood in the country around this issue is a mix between total despair and rising anger," he said, adding there is now “a genuine threat to public order" if no action is taken.
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Farage, who has long sought to link problems such as public healthcare and housing to migrant arrivals, reiterated his stance that the U.K. is being “invaded” by migrants. He said that if he comes to power, Reform will leave the European Convention on Human Rights and repeal or “disapply” all other rights treaties to bar all asylum claims and ensure migrants who arrive without authorization are deported.
The party pledged to scale up the capacity of detention facilities and secure deals with countries including Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iran, to return migrants.
Asked repeatedly about the prospect of asylum-seekers being tortured or killed if they were sent back to countries they fled from, Farage said: “The alternative is to do nothing ... We cannot be responsible for all the sins that take place around the world."
So far this year, more than 28,000 people have crossed the English Channel to arrive in the U.K. by boat, up about 50% from the same period last year. A much larger number of people — over 111,000 — applied for asylum in the U.K. in the year up to June, official figures show.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ditched the Conservative administration’s flagship plan to send migrants who arrived by unauthorized means to Rwanda. Instead, he has pinned hopes on a deal agreed with France last month to send some migrants who cross the English Channel on dinghies and inflatable boats back to France.
U.K. officials have suggested the “one in, one out” plan is a major breakthrough, despite the initial program involving a limited number of people.
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The government is also looking to speed up the processing of asylum claims. Officials have housed tens of thousands of migrants awaiting their asylum outcome in hotels at public expense — a controversial policy that has long simmered but tipped into protests in recent weeks after a hotel resident allegedly tried to kiss a 14-year-old girl and was charged with sexual assault. The man has denied the accusation.
Anti-migrant demonstrators, as well as counterprotests, have flared after local authorities won a temporary injunction last week to shut down the Bell Hotel in Epping, on the outskirts of London.