Nigel Farage has pledged that his Reform UK party would impose tariffs, visa bans, and airline restrictions on countries that refuse to accept the return of migrants from Britain.
In order to fulfil Reform UK’s previous pledge of deporting and removing all illegals, party leader Nigel Farage said over the weekend that he would look to impose stringent penalties on countries that refuse to take back their nationals.
This has been a major impediment to deportations in recent years, with countries like Afghanistan, Eritrea, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria often being cited as being resistant to cooperating with London.
The British government has previously seen some success by threatening to impose visa restrictions on countries that fail to accept the return of their people, such as Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo; however, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said a firmer stance is needed.
The Reform chief said on Saturday that if he is elected as prime minister, he “will not tolerate countries who won’t take back illegal migrants.”
Farage said that he would not only implement visa bans, but also impose tariffs and restrict airline access to British airspace on countries that do not cooperate on deportations.
“Illegal immigration is an out-of-control disaster that poses a massive threat to our national security. It’s only getting worse under Open Borders Burnham. Only Reform will deport every single illegal migrant on our shores and stop the boats,” he told The Times.
According to the paper, citing senior Reform sources, the party believes tariffs will likely be most effective against countries that have limited regular immigration with Britain but have a significant trading relationship with the UK, citing Egypt as an example.
The party has also reportedly identified Pakistan as a potential target for airline restrictions. Pakistan has notably refused to accept the deportations of some the most infamous members of the Muslim child rape grooming gangs that sexually preyed on young white girls in the north of England.
While Reform leader Nigel Farage initially received criticism over his apparent prevarication over deportations, the party has since committed to fully removing all illegals from the country, with Farage vowing to establish a new Ministry of Deportations to solely focus on the project and to establish deportation hubs in left-leaning areas of the country and partner with countries like Nayib Bukele’s El Salvador to house criminal aliens.
Last month, Mr Farage also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with National Rally president Jordan Bardella, who is currently the favourite to become the next prime minister of France, concerning the immediate pushback of illegal migrants in the English Channel.
Although the left-wing government has touted a reduction in Channel crossings over last year, nearly 21,000 have been brought ashore in Britain since the start of the year. According to The Times, out of the 211,000 illegals who have crossed the waterway since 2018, only around 9,700 have been returned to France.