Petty, vindictive, and spiteful are just some of the words used to describe the latest shock-policy conjured up by Reform this weekend, after the party announced their intention to build migrant detainment centres in regions which elect a Green MP.
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What is the new Reform immigration policy?
Donning shades on Brighton beach, Zia Yusuf – one of those ‘unelected bureaucrats’ we have heard some much about – spoke in a campaign video, vowing to deport tens of thousands of illegal immigrants should they win the next general election.
To do that, Reform say that many more detention centres will need to be built. He states that anywhere in a Reform-controlled area – council or constituency – will not be used to house migrants for processing. Instead, they plan to send them to areas run by Green Party officials.
“A Reform government will not put any migrant detention facilities in any constituency with a Reform MP. Nor will we put them where Reform controls the council. We will prioritise Green controlled parliamentary constituencies and Green controlled councils to locate the detention centres.”
“If you vote in a Reform council or Reform MP, we guarantee you won’t have a detention centre near you. If you vote Green, there’s a good chance you will. This is an important exercise in democratic consent, not just for our mass deportation policy, but for where the detention centres are placed.” | Zia Yusuf
Ex-UKIP leader hits out at ‘unsafe, divisive’ Reform proposals
Condemnation of the policy has been widespread, with figures on the right of the political spectrum blasting Reform for ‘staging political theatre’. Henry Bolton, a former leader of UKIP and ex-army serviceman, says the proposals are aligned with ‘authoritarian politics’.
“Illegal immigration policy, including the location of any detention centres, should be driven by the strategic objective to end illegal immigration and based on operational, public safety, security, and logistical grounds. The first concern should be public safety.”
“Furthermore, democratic politics is not punitive. Authoritarian politics is. As a policy this not only inefficient, it is unsafe, confrontational, deliberately divisive and would inevitably add significantly to the the cost and legislative work of a future government.” | Henry Bolton
Rupert Lowe slams ‘vengeful gimmicks’
Even Rupert Lowe, who launched the right-wing Restore Britain party this year, was left aghast at the plans – saying that they’re nothing more than ‘sh*tty political point-scoring measures’. He also questioned how this would be fair to Reform voters in Green constituencies.
“Reform want to vindictively target Brits in potential Green constituencies to make a point and house illegals next to them. But I don’t believe that we have time for this petty nonsense. Detention facilities must go where they are secure and efficient – and not based on sh*tty political point-scoring.”
“Restore Britain will not abandon residents of those constituencies who have a Green MP elected on 25% of the vote. That is not fair, and more importantly – it is not efficient. We want to remove the illegal migrant population, but that won’t be completed through vengeful gimmicks.” | Rupert Lowe