STOP REFORM UK

Immigration

Farage has a long history of anti-immigrant campaigning in UKIP, the Brexit vote and the Reform UK manifesto for the 2024 general election. 


Reform Slogans

Farage and Reform UK have several slogans about immigration:

  1. Leave the European Convention on Human Rights
  2. Pause immigration
  3. Picking up illegal immigrants and returning them to France
  4. The population crisis making us poorer

(Sources: https://archive.ph/Jrpyd, https://x.com/reformparty_uk/status/1804794079978373215, https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1895114/nigel-farage-echr-small-boats-rishi-sunak) 


Some general points on immigration debate

There’s a need for more nuance in public discussions about immigration, separating the legitimate concerns from the far-right rhetoric. While right-wing political narratives frame immigration negatively, it’s clear that immigrants play a crucial role in sustaining the UK’s economy, public services (particularly the NHS), and are a positive cultural influence. Immigration is not just an economic necessity but also a part of the UK’s history and identity. Dismissing it or creating policies that discourage it will ultimately harm the country in the long run.


1. Conflating Immigration Issues

  • The media and politicians often bundle all forms of immigration into a single category, when, in fact, these groups have distinct motivations—economic migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and students. This lack of nuance fuels misconceptions and contributes to feelings of frustration when people can’t distinguish between the different types of immigrants. 
  • Surveys show Britons think around a quarter of the population are immigrants, when it’s around 16%. 
  • While the number of people arriving in small boats has certainly increased in recent years, it still remains a relatively small percentage of the overall population. The fact that this issue has been framed as a crisis often distracts from the more significant challenges in the asylum system, such as delays, processing backlogs, and the strain on local resources.


2. Tory Government failed immigration policies have made things worse

  • Increased non-EU immigration: one of the main drivers behind Brexit was the desire to reduce immigration, from the EU, but the UK has seen a massive increase in non-EU immigration, which contradicts the original narrative of “taking back control.” This is a significant point, because it shows how political messaging and the reality on the ground can diverge, leading to public frustration when the results don’t align with expectations. 
  • The issue of asylum seekers and the government’s handling of asylum claims is also crucial. The policy of limiting safe routes for asylum seekers and cutting down on legal immigration pathways has led to an increase in dangerous irregular migration, like the use of small boats.
  • The increase in boat crossings has been a result of restricted legal migration routes. Before 2018, these crossings weren’t as prominent, but the tightening of legal avenues has pushed people into riskier, more dangerous means of entry. It’s a direct consequence of government policy, and yet, instead of addressing the root causes, the government has often chosen to demonize the migrants themselves. 
  • The “Processing Backlog”: The backlog in asylum claims, as you mention, is another aspect of the crisis. When people’s asylum claims are not processed in a timely manner, it creates a visible issue that’s often framed as a “problem” for the country, when, in fact, the problem lies in the failure to adequately handle and process claims. 


3. Why is the UK economy structurally dependent on immigration?

The UK’s economic model, which is lightly regulated and largely dependent on domestic consumption, has become deeply reliant on migrant labor at both ends of the labour market.

  • The UK’s Demand-Driven Economy:
    • The UK economy is primarily demand-driven, relying heavily on domestic consumption, population growth, and increasing house prices rather than exports. 
    • Unlike Germany, which has a strong export-oriented economy, the UK’s economy is more reliant on services (including both high- and low-skilled sectors), many of which depend on migrant labor, particularly in low-wage jobs. 
    • Immigration has accounted for more than half of the UK’s population growth, and a reduction in immigration will weaken domestic demand. 
  • Low-Wage Jobs and Labour Market Mismatches:
    • The British economy has a high percentage of low-paying jobs (about 20% of jobs in the UK), which natives are less willing to take up. This includes sectors like catering, construction, care services, agriculture and hospitality, where many workers are migrants, particularly from the EU. 
    • The UK’s liberal labour market and the austerity measures of the Conservative government have worsened working conditions, increasing the reliance on migrant workers to fill these low-paid roles. 
  • The Problem of Skill Shortages and Deregulation:
    • Decades of deregulation in the UK economy have led to a lack of incentives for firms to train workers domestically. This has resulted in a reliance on migrant workers to fill skills gaps, especially in sectors like construction, where many firms are unwilling to invest in training. 
    • The NHS is a prime example of this reliance on foreign-trained workers, with a significant percentage of doctors historically coming from abroad. 
  • Need for Greater State Involvement:
  • To cope with the challenges posed by reduced immigration, the UK might need to increase state involvement in addressing labour market mismatches. This could include investing in training programs and regulations to ensure that the labor force is adequately skilled and that low-wage jobs are filled. 


4. Government failure to inform voters about the importance of immigration

  • Public services: The role of the government, especially post-Brexit, seems to be one of the main driving factors in the current state of public opinion about immigration. Tory and Labour governments have not been transparent about the need for increased immigration to fill gaps in sectors like healthcare and social care.
  • Immigrants fill jobs: The contradiction between Brexit rhetoric and the reality of the UK’s labour market needs is striking. The government has, in essence, been encouraging immigration from countries like India and Nigeria to fill critical roles, yet publicly they’ve continued with an anti-immigration narrative. This has created a “double standard” in the eyes of many voters and has led to frustration, as the government seems to be speaking out of both sides of its mouth. 
  • Immigration as Economic Necessity: immigration has played a vital role in preventing economic stagnation, especially in key sectors like the NHS. Without immigrants, the UK economy would have faced a much deeper recession post-Brexit. However, the government has failed to communicate this effectively to the public, which has led to confusion and anger. 
  • The NHS and Immigration: There is also a critical financial link: immigrant workers contribute to NHS funding through taxes and immigration-related charges like the NHS surcharge. The argument is that without this labour force, the NHS would struggle, not just in terms of staffing but also financially.


5. Economic Impact of Students: 

  • The fact that international students contribute significantly to the UK economy—through tuition fees, living expenses, and the jobs they create—is often overlooked in the broader immigration debate. Yet, students are often lumped together with other forms of immigration in discussions that are more focused on the “problems” of immigration rather than the benefits.


(Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rjyUd8vsM8&t=229s, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rjyUd8vsM8, https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/brexit/2017/10/16/if-the-uk-wants-to-cut-immigration-it-must-change-its-model-of-capitalism/)


Structural causes of UK problems

There is little discussion of these issues in the media and public discourse:

  • High levels of inequality in the UK mean that the richest 1,000 have the combined wealth of the poorest 40%, when 12 million live in poverty. This extreme wealth gives them the ability to use their wealth to influence politics and stop governments taxing that wealth. Governments then do not have enough revenue to fund decent public services, causing people to lose faith in the government. The far-right then blame these problems on easy answers like the EU or immigrants. This threatens social cohesion and some are predicting it could result in social collapse.
  • The UK Right-wing media has played a significant role in pulling UK public opinion to the right through ideologically driven disinformation on a range of topics. This promoted and protected the Tories, attacked Labour and is now promoting Reform UK.
  • Austerity was an ideological project introduced by the Cameron Tory government. Local governments and public services had deep cuts which have been highly damaging to public services, communities and the fabric of British society. 


Responding to Farage/Reform immigrant slogans

Reform UK’s ideas sound plausible to those who haven’t fact-checked them, and if Reform formed a government, voters would end up with a series of unfulfilled promises. Their policies might sound good but fall apart when tested against legal, logistical, and diplomatic realities. 


Leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)


Picking up illegal immigrants (small boats) and returning them to France

  • Leaving the ECHR would not make any difference to those coming to the UK on small boats because it does not cover maritime law.
  • According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention), nations are allowed to pick people up from boats if they are “found at sea in danger of being lost”. Instructing private vessels, lifeboats and the Navy to act unlawful is highly unlikely to be successful.
  • The UK simply doesn’t have enough naval resources to patrol the Channel effectively without severely compromising other maritime and global security obligations (such as protecting trade routes). 
  • British boats attempting to return migrants to France would require entering French waters so would need permission or risk an international incident. It is unlikely this permission would be given. (Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyxeedx40d8o, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rI-uZ5LDNQ 
  • Zoe Gardner released a great video outlining the complexity of the small boat crisis and debunked several claims.


Pause immigration

  • The ‘replacement’ argument: Reform promote a “zero immigration” model, that relies solely on a domestic workforce, but this is unsustainable. This is because there aren’t enough people in the domestic workforce, and with an aging population, there would be fewer taxpayers to support pensions and social services. Immigration, in this context, serves as a necessary counterbalance to the demographic challenges facing the UK.
  • The need for long-term workforce planning: The argument against the immediate cessation of immigration or the reduction of foreign workers in key sectors like healthcare is based on practical concerns. It would take years to build up the necessary workforce at home through training, and even then, there’s no guarantee that the country would be able to meet the demand in critical sectors like healthcare in the short term. This slow process of domestic training versus the immediacy of foreign labour underlines a fundamental tension in the immigration debate. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rjyUd8vsM8)


The population crisis making us poorer

Analysis of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report on immigration found that migrants clear have a positive economic impact on the UK

  • Skilled migrants contribute more to the economy than British-born citizens, on average.
    • On average, skilled migrant workers contribute £16,300 net per year to the economy, whereas British-born adults contribute just £800.
    • When comparing skilled migrant workers with British-born workers, migrants on average make a net contribution of £2,000 more per year.
    • Immigrant households make a net positive contribution of £12,000, whereas British-born households are a net negative to the economy, contributing -£4,400.
  • The UK relies on skilled migrant workers to fill essential roles, especially in sectors like healthcare and social care.
  • See point 3 above on Why is the UK economy structurally dependent on immigration
  • See point 4 above on Government failure to inform voters about the importance of immigration
  • See point 5 on Economic Impact of Students


Real solutions to immigration issue

Addressing the root causes of migration requires confronting the economic system that perpetuates it. Solutions might include redirecting investments into impoverished regions, implementing full employment policies, taxing extreme wealth and land for redistribution, and even exploring non-capitalist economic systems that don’t rely on inequality.


In 2025 Farage is softening his rhetoric on immigration

Since the general election Farage and Reform UK have been attempting to broaden their support to win more votes in future elections. In an interview in January 2025, Farage appears to be softening his rhetoric on immigration, stating they are not anti-immigration but ‘pro control’, that there is room for some highly skilled people to come on visas but not another ‘population explosion’ referring to migration reaching 906,000 in 2023.