Farage pushes hardline immigration plan at Reform UK conference

Nigel Farage used the climax of Reform UK’s annual conference in Birmingham this week to press a hardline immigration and law-and-order agenda, while facing fresh controversy over his party’s stance on the press, claims about deporting asylum seekers and questions about his personal finances. Farage told party members to prepare for a general election as soon as 2027, pledged to stop Channel small-boat crossings within two weeks of gaining the legal powers to do so, and doubled down on plans to detain and deport large numbers of people who arrive irregularly.

Speaking to supporters at the NEC, Farage framed Reform as the patriotic alternative to what he called misrule by Labour, promising mass deportations and tougher criminal penalties. He also told broadcasters that once new legislation is in place his government would be able to halt arrivals rapidly. As he put it in a broadcast interview, as soon as the law is in place and you have the ability to detain and deport, you will stop it in two weeks. He later specified that men and women arriving by boat would be detained and deported, while children would be treated differently because of a duty of care — comments that sparked...