Keir Starmer’s press secretary said Nigel Farage had no interest in fixing the problems gripping Britain with its proposals to scrap the main route to British citizenship for migrants
Downing Street has torn into Nigel Farage’s “unrealistic, unworkable, unfunded” immigration plans – and accused Reform UK of “fostering division”.
Keir Starmer’s press secretary said Reform UK had no interest in actually fixing problems gripping Britain, as it unveiled new proposals to scrap the main route to British citizenship for migrants. The hardliners want to abolish indefinite leave to remain (ILR), which could leave tens of thousands of people legally settled in Britain at risk.
The plans have already started to unravel after the Centre for Policies think tank disowned its claim that the move could save taxpayers £234billion – casting doubt on Reform’s figures.
Mr Farage also boasted: “We are here to make massive future cuts to welfare spending… Welfare will be for UK citizens only.” But his colleague Zia Yusuf admitted it wouldn’t apply to those on the post-Brexit EU settlement scheme – the vast majority of foreign Universal Credit claimants.
The PM’s press secretary said: “Every week Nigel Farage sets out unrealistic, unworkable and unfunded plans. You’ve hear the Prime Minister talk about the politics of grievance that Reform thrives on. They don’t want to tackle the issues facing the country, they want to foster division.”
READ MORE: Nigel Farage’s new Reform UK policy ‘already falling apart’ over savings blunder
She said the PM believes the country is at a crossroads between “national renewal” and “the path of division and decline which Reform wants to put the country on”.
Migrants can currently apply for ILR after five years living in Britain, but Reform UK want to force people to renew their visas every five years. Applicants would have to meet certain criteria, including a higher salary threshold and better standard of English.
They would have to have lived in the UK for seven years, up from five, and there would be tighter restrictions on bringing spouses and children to the UK. The new visa would also prevent any access to benefits, the party said.
Both Mr Farage and Reform’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, have claimed the savings to the taxpayer would exceed £230billion. Mr Farage boasted in the Mail today: “Our changes will save British taxpayers at least £234billion over the lifetime of these migrants. That is four times our total defence budget, or double what is spent on education.”
But it appears to be based on figures contained in a report published in February by the Centre of Policy Studies, which the think-tank has said should not be used.
The think-tank’s report currently contains the warning: “NOTE: The Office for Budget Responsibility fiscal data contained within this report is the subject of dispute, meaning that the overall cost estimates should no longer be used. We will be publishing an updated estimate in due course. This does not impact on the visa data or projections for the numbers likely to gain ILR on different visa routes.”
A Labour source told The Mirror: “Farage’s not even half-baked announcement has already fallen apart. Yet again, Reform have no credible plan and their only answer is ‘don’t know’.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the amount of money Reform UK claimed the plan would save overnight “have already begun to disassemble.” She added: “I want to bring down illegal migration. This Government is bringing down migration. We have sent a record number of people who have no right to be in our country home.
“We’re reducing the use of hotels for asylum seekers and we’ve made an agreement with France to send people back who come over on small boats. Those are all steps towards our ambitions to get a grip of this situation that we inherited.
“It is a difficult challenge, I think everybody can see that, but simple gimmicks like those put forward by Reform that have no basis in reality and where the numbers just fall apart – that’s not the way to tackle a very serious issue, and this Labour Government are getting on and doing that.”
Mr Farage told a press conference: “Welfare will end for everyone that is not a UK citizen, we will close the loopholes. Reform will ensure that welfare is for UK citizens only. We are cleaning up the mess of Boris Johnson. The ‘Boris-wave’ will bankrupt us. Reform will deal with the ‘Boris-wave’, the biggest betrayal of voters’ trust in modern times.”
A Government spokesperson added: “People here illegally rightly do not get anything from our benefits system. Foreign nationals usually have to wait five years to claim Universal Credit and we’re looking at increasing this to 10 years.
“We inherited a broken welfare system and spiralling benefits bill. That’s why we’re taking action and reforming the system and have seen the proportion of universal credit payments to foreign nationals fall since last July.”
A Reform UK spokesman claimed: “The OBR have said they will update their lifetime fiscal costs per migrant after coming under political pressure, but our analysis suggests their number and even the CPS’s £234bn number is too low.
“It assumes take-up rate of ILR for recent non-EU cohorts will be in line with those of previous cohorts who were mainly EU. The reality is those coming from Somalia and Pakistan will no doubt take up ILR at much higher rates. They will also likely bring more young dependents. This will make the real number much higher than £234 billion.”
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