Reform would suspend asylum system for parliamentary term if in government

One of Reform UK's pledges for its first 100 days in power would be stopping small boat crossings, Nigel Farage has said

Reform UK has announced plans to close down the UK's asylum system for a full parliamentary term if it were to enter government.

Reform would scrap the asylum tribunal system, which hears asylum appeal cases, and claimants in more than 90,000 outstanding appeals would be deported.

Labour chairperson Bridget Phillipson called the proposals a "clear sign of desperation and weakness".

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the proposals "largely copy" his party's policies, arguing: "Only the Conservatives have a serious and credible plan to fix our borders."

Reform said it would pull the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 and disapply the 1951 Refugee Convention to prevent legal challenges to its plans.

Home Office staff who currently oversee asylum claims would be "reprioritised to reviewing and overturning previous refugee grants", Reform added.

Pakistan, Somalia, Eritrea, Syria, Afghanistan and Sudan could be hit with visa bans under these measures.

In "extreme cases" where no country is willing to take custody of a deportee or it is inappropriate to return someone to their home country, Reform said it would negotiate deals with third countries.

Around 400,000 people would be liable for deportation under the plans, which would target anybody granted asylum, overstaying a visa, or from a country deemed safe by a Reform-led government.

Both Labour and the Conservatives have also pledged to make changes to the asylum system.

Phillipson said Labour is showing "we can control immigration and get numbers down with serious action, not by abandoning the asylum system altogether", adding the "right approach" is "not giving up or caving to the most extreme voices, but ensuring that the rules we have are properly enforced".