Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (Pic: Wikimedia commons)
Campaigners have slammed Reform UK’s racist plan to deport asylum seekers. The far right party’s leader Nigel Farage pledged mass deportations of asylum seekers if Reform UK wins office.
The plans entail that police would arrest refugees in small boats on arrival, detain them in disused RAF bases, and then, if agreements are reached, return them to their home countries.
Mohammad Asif, director of the Afghan Human Rights Foundation, told Socialist Worker, “Claiming asylum is a fundamental right. Refugees fleeing war, persecution and violence have the legal right to seek asylum whether they arrive in small boats, lorries, trains or planes. No politician can deny those rights.
“Whether Farage and his racist allies like it or not, asylum seekers are entitled to sanctuary in Britain.” He blasted the proposals as “not only cruel but also unlawful” and “designed to spread hate, division and fear”.
“Politicians like Farage and his far right party are dangerous because they thrive on setting communities against each other.”
Labour’s criticism of that plan is not that it is fuelled by racist scapegoating—but that it won’t work. Labour branded the measure as “pie in the sky”.
Farage’s proposed Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill would also consider “third countries” such as Rwanda and Albania to deport asylum seekers to. He suggested Ascension Island, a British overseas territory in the South Atlantic, as a “fallback” if people could not be sent elsewhere.
“The aim of this legislation is mass deportations,” Farage told the Times newspaper, describing immigration as “a national security threat”.
Weyman Bennett, co-convenor of Stand Up To Racism, told Socialist Worker that Reform UK’s plan is “racist and divisive”. Reform UK “will not stop at refugees”. “This is how it starts. We shouldn’t let ourselves be divided by a party for the rich and powerful that tries to divide workers and communities.
“We recognise what this is—it is a fascist enabler and we should resist it by any means necessary,” he said.
Under Reform UK’s plan, the home secretary would be legally obliged to deport people from Britain. And people who attempt to return to Britain or who tear up identity documents would face criminal charges.
The government would also give migrants £2,500 to leave the country.
It is a vile racist plan from a vile racist party.
Opinion polls now have Reform UK maintaining an 8 percentage point lead, with Farage’s party on 30 percent, Labour on 22 percent and the Tories on 22 percent.
We can’t be complacent with our campaigning against Reform UK—we can, and must, beat the racist party back.
Racism first developed as a justification for enslavement
