Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has launched a bold migration plan, pledging to scrap the so-called indefinite leave to remain (ILR) scheme and cut welfare spending.
ILR currently grants permanent residency and welfare rights to hundreds of thousands of migrants. Farage highlighted that over 800,000 newcomers are set to qualify for ILR in the next three years, at an estimated cost of £230 billion—what he called “truly eye-watering sum of money.”
The Reform UK leader accused past governments of betraying the public by allowing low-skilled, welfare-dependent migration on a massive scale. “Far too many who come don’t work, have never worked, and never will work, the ability to bring dependants of all kinds.” Farage said, adding that the country cannot continue acting as the world’s “food bank.”
Farage, joined by Zia Yusuf, Reform’s head of DOGE also discussed the “Boris Wave” of migration, referring to the sharp increase in arrivals to the UK after January 2021.
Backing the plan, Guy Dampier of the Prosperity Institute branded Labour’s inaction under Keir Starmer a “slow-motion immigration car crash.” He warned that without drastic changes, millions of arrivals will gain permanent residency and full welfare access, locking Britain into unsustainable costs.
Dampier also supports scrapping the Human Rights Act, which currently blocks deportations, and urged re-checking fraudulent citizenship claims.
“The problem is the law, particularly human rights law, which makes it incredibly difficult to remove people,” he added.
