Understand
Reform UK announces plans to suspend the UK asylum system for a full parliamentary term
Overview
Reform UK has announced proposals to close down the UK's asylum system for a full parliamentary term if it enters government, which would involve rejecting new applications, voiding existing ones, and marking claimants for deportation. The party also plans to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), repeal the Human Rights Act 1998, and disapply the 1951 Refugee Convention. Other political parties, including Labour and the Conservatives, responded critically or claimed the policies mirrored their own approaches.
Key points
- Reform UK would suspend the asylum system for a parliamentary term, rejecting all new applications and voiding existing ones.
- The asylum tribunal system would be scrapped, with claimants in over 90,000 outstanding appeals deported.
- Plans include pulling the UK out of the ECHR, repealing the Human Rights Act 1998, and disapplying the 1951 Refugee Convention.
- Reform would use visa bans and tariffs to pressure countries into accepting deportees, potentially targeting nations like Pakistan, Somalia, and Afghanistan.
- Around 400,000 people would be liable for deportation under the plans, targeting those granted asylum, visa overstayers, or individuals from safe countries.
- Labour chairperson Bridget Phillipson criticised the plans as an assault on common values, while Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp argued they largely copy Conservative policies.