Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for a “halt” to immigration, arguing that the mass importation of foreigners “devalues” Britain.
The open borders agenda embarked upon by both Westminster establishment parties, having begun under Tony Blair and brought to record heights by Boris Johnson, has been a boon to big corporations to bing down the cost of labour but has come at the cost of social cohesion and the British way of life, Nigel Farage has said.
“Many of those that have come in the last 20 years do not share our values,” he told The Express. “And so in a sense, we become a little bit less British every day. And I do view that as being a problem.”
“We have to call a halt. A 10 million rise in the last 20 years has devalued the quality of life for everybody, damaged us culturally, broken up our communities, broken up our sense of patriotism, and belief. And you know what? Not everything is about big business employers.”
This week, laying out his Reform UK party’s agenda in the Daily Mail, Farage said they would seek to put a “freeze” on immigration with the goal of “zero per cent population increase through immigration.”
The party would also leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which the UK is still a member of despite Brexit, as it is technically separate from the EU. The ECHR has frequently been used to block the deportations of illegal aliens, migrant criminals, and even terrorists from the UK.
Illegal migration over the English Channel has soared to record highs, with over 11,500 having reached British shores from the beaches of France, the highest level for this time of the year since the crisis began.
This comes despite Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer vowing to “smash the gangs” and bring the migrant crisis to an end during last year’s general election.
Meanwhile, a report from the Times of London suggested that the government’s projections on a decline in legal immigration were vastly underestimated and that the UK will likely see a net migration (the number allowed in minus the number who left) of around 525,000 per year from 2028 onwards, or a city the size of Edinburgh added to the country every year.
This represented nearly 200,000 more than the government had expected annually. According to the report, the post-Brexit immigration system pushed through under Boris Johnson has resulted in more non-EU migrants, who are more likely to remain in the country than European migrants.
The failure of both Labour and the Conservatives to stem mass migration has led to soaring popularity for Farage’s Reform party, which is coming off of a historic victory in the local England elections earlier this month.
The latest survey from Find Out Now, found that Reform currently stands at 33 per cent support, compared to 20 per cent for Labour and 16 per cent for the Conservatives. If the poll were to be reflected in a general election, Reform would secure 365 seats in the House of Commons, with a majority of 80, meaning that the Farage party is on pace to become the next government in 2029.
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