Immigration Reform Needs to Go Further — Much Further

The Government is Taking Steps, But Not Nearly Enough

I'll give credit where it's due. The current government's immigration reforms represent a shift in the right direction. Raising the settlement qualifying period from five to ten years, introducing a B2 language requirement, and requiring three years' national insurance contributions before certain benefits — these are all sensible measures.

The immigration white paper, published in May 2025, aims to reduce arrivals and increase removals. These principles are sound. But let's be clear: they don't match the scale of change that Britain actually needs.

We're Still Not Solving the Problem

Making it harder to settle is good policy, but we need to be much more ambitious. Reform UK's position is clear: we need to substantially reduce overall migration into the country and address the backlog of illegal migrants who have no right to be here.

The current approach is tinkering around the edges while the core problem — that we've become too easy a destination for mass migration — persists. We're competing with other countries for migrants, but the question we should be asking is: do we need to?

Deportation Isn't Harsh — It's Necessary

Reform UK has proposed removing up to 600,000 illegal migrants over a parliamentary term. This sounds dramatic, but let's put it in perspective: we're talking about people with no legal right to be in the country. Deportation isn't cruelty — it's enforcing the law.

The current system has become farcical. Illegal migrants can appeal, delay, challenge, and obstruct removal almost indefinitely. Meanwhile, they're housed at vast cost to taxpayers, in housing that could go to British citizens, using services that are already stretched.

The ECHR Question

Reform UK is prepared to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights if it continues to block necessary deportations. This isn't ideology for its own sake. It's about whether British law should be made by British courts and Parliament, or whether unelected European bodies should have a veto over our immigration enforcement.

The irony is bitter: we left the European Union partly to reclaim sovereignty, yet we remain bound by a convention that prevents us from removing people illegally in our country. That's not justice — that's absurdity.

A Broader Challenge

This isn't about being unwelcoming to migrants or to people of other cultures. It's about having a controlled, managed immigration system that puts the interests of British citizens first. It's about rule of law and democratic accountability.

The British people have been clear repeatedly: they want immigration brought under control. Reform UK is the only party that's willing to listen and to go as far as necessary to deliver that change.