Nigel Farage’s new immigration plans have “no basis in reality”, Rachel Reeves has said.
The Reform leader announced his vision to force all migrants with permanent residency to reapply for visas under stricter criteria including a higher salary requirement and a better standard of English today.
The party also said they would change the law to prevent foreign nationals from accessing the British welfare system. They claim this would save £234bn over the lifetime of the average migrant – a figure that hasn’t been verified.
But the chancellor has hit back, saying: “The numbers that Reform have come out with overnight have already begun to disassemble.
“And, look, I want to bring down illegal migration. This government is bringing down migration. We have sent a record number of people who have no right to be in our country home.
“We’re reducing the use of hotels for asylum seekers and we’ve made an agreement with France to send people back who come over on small boats.
“Those are all steps towards our ambitions to get a grip of this situation that we inherited.
“It is a difficult challenge, I think everybody can see that, but simple gimmicks like those put forward by Reform that have no basis in reality and where the numbers just fall apart – that’s not the way to tackle a very serious issue, and this Labour government are getting on and doing that.”
The prime minister’s spokesperson said: “Every week Nigel Farage sets out unrealistic, unworkable and unfunded plans.
“You’ve heard the prime minister talk about the politics of grievance that Reform thrives on.
“They don’t want to tackle the issues facing the country, they want to foster division.”
The policy comes after one of Britain’s largest ever Right-wing rallies, in which around 100,000 protesters, led by Tommy Robinson, marched in London chanting anti-migration slogans.