Reform’s immigration policy announcement fell apart after the think tank it based its numbers on admitted they are wrong.
On Monday, party leader Nigel Farage announced Reform would scrap indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for migrants if they won the next general election.
Currently, migrants can apply for permanent settlement in the UK after five years, giving them the right to live, study and work in the UK permanently. ILR is a vital part of gaining British citizenship and also allows people to claim benefits.
However, under Reform’s plans, migrants would need to reapply for new visas with tougher rules every five years.
The party also said it wants to bar anyone other than British citizens from accessing welfare.
Reform claim that these plans would save £234bn over several decades.
But shortly after the party’s announcement, the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) – whose research Reform had used to reach the £234bn figure – said the cost estimates should “no longer be used.”
This came after a challenge by the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Announcing the policy, Farage hit out at Boris Johnson’s government for the wave of immigration into the UK under post-Brexit rules.
Farage labelled this the “Boriswave,” and said hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants who arrived after 2021 would soon be able to qualify for ILR.
The plans have been slammed by Labour though, with chancellor Rachel Reeves saying they have “no basis in reality.”
Addressing the CPS’s clarification, she said: “The numbers that Reform have come out with overnight have already begun to disassemble.
“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.”