Nigel Farage has pledged to suspend Britain’s asylum system for five years if Reform UK forms the next government, announcing the policy at a press conference in Kent on Monday.
The proposals would halt asylum grants and reject pending cases. They are opposition policy commitments, not changes to existing law.
Pending claims and appeals targeted
Advance Press Association reporting set out plans to declare active applications void, abolish asylum tribunals and seek to deport claimants with outstanding asylum or humanitarian protection appeals rather than hear those appeals.
The approximately 90,000 figure cited in that reporting concerns outstanding appeals. It should not be presented as a verified count of people already subject to enforceable removal decisions.
Reviews of previous grants and resettlement restrictions
ITV’s report of Monday’s announcement says Reform would review asylum grants made since 2024, with people from countries the home secretary deemed safe losing permission to remain.
Reuters reports that the party would close legal asylum resettlement routes, while exempting Ukrainians who fled to Britain following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Pressure on countries refusing returns
Farage said a future Reform government could use tariffs, visa bans or airspace restrictions against countries refusing to accept people returned from Britain.
Reuters reports that failed applicants would be sent to their home countries or a safe third country.
Reform’s existing published policy already proposes leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, repealing the Human Rights Act and preventing people who enter illegally from obtaining asylum. It also envisages a deportation command, detention facilities and negotiated return agreements.
Political response
Labour chair Bridget Phillipson criticised the proposals, while Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp argued they largely copied his party’s policies, according to ITV.
The announcement does not itself establish how the proposed removals would operate or resolve the legal and practical questions involved.