Summary:
- Nigel Farage proposed a major crime crackdown plan including ending early release for violent offenders, increasing prison capacity, and boosting police numbers.
- Farage’s proposals include building 30,000 new prison spaces and recruiting 30,000 additional police officers over the next five years.
- Farage also plans to negotiate with foreign governments to house non-British inmates abroad and aims to deport all non-citizens convicted of crimes.
- Labour Party criticized Farage’s proposals as divisive, arguing they exploit fear and distract from genuine solutions to public concerns.
- A JL Partners poll showed Reform UK leading Labour in national support for the first time with 29% to 23%.
- Both Reform UK and Labour are preparing for a prolonged campaign season as Parliament heads into recess, with further announcements anticipated from Farage.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has laid out the most hardline criminal justice proposals of his political career, pledging to scrap early release for violent offenders, triple prison capacity and increase police numbers significantly. The announcement came during his latest campaign speech on Monday, as Reform seeks to cement its rising support ahead of Parliament’s summer recess.
“We will cut crime in half, and we will take back control of our streets, our courts and our prisons,” Farage said, delivering the address in East London amid a growing political spotlight on law and order. Flanked by party candidates and former police officers, Farage described his plan as the “biggest ever overhaul of the criminal justice system.”
Central to Reform UK’s new criminal justice platform is a pledge to abolish early release for individuals convicted of serious violent and sexual offences. According to Farage, such offenders will be required to serve “100% of their sentences, not a day less.”
Further proposals include the creation of 30,000 new prison spaces and the recruitment of an additional 30,000 police officers over the next five years. Farage said this would resolve what he described as a “public safety crisis” caused by decades of “soft sentencing and overcrowded jails.”
Adding a controversial international dimension to the plan, Farage also announced intentions to negotiate with foreign governments—specifically citing El Salvador—as potential locations for housing non-British inmates. Reform’s leadership insists that such efforts would “lighten the burden on UK taxpayers” and expedite rehabilitation through deportation.
Another key plank in Farage’s campaign is the deportation of all non-citizens convicted of a criminal offence. This policy would apply “regardless of sentence length or severity,” though Farage emphasized that “safeguards would remain for those facing persecution in their country of origin.”
These proposals build on the earlier announcement on July 18, in which Farage committed to ending asylum applications made on student or tourist visas and implementing immediate deportations for individuals entering the UK illegally.
The Labour Party responded swiftly to Farage’s address, accusing Reform UK of stoking division rather than offering genuine solutions. A Labour spokesperson remarked Monday morning that Farage’s law-and-order platform is “designed to divide communities and distract from the real issues facing Britain.”
Keir Starmer, who delivered a separate speech on civil society earlier this week, has avoided direct engagement with Farage’s proposals, though members of his shadow cabinet privately voiced concern over Reform’s rising appeal among working-class voters.
Amid the policy rollout, a new JL Partners poll published Sunday shows Reform UK pulling ahead of Labour in national support for the first time, registering 29% to Labour’s 23%. The Conservative Party was trailing at 17%.
With Parliament set to go into recess, both Reform UK and Labour are sharpening their messaging for an extended campaign season. Farage has hinted that further announcements are on the horizon, particularly concerning the judiciary and immigration tribunals.
Background:
Here is how this event developed over time:
- July 2024: The UK general election results in a Labour landslide, ending 14 years of Conservative government.
- Post-July 2024: Keir Starmer, now Prime Minister, begins pushing policies including lowering the voting age to 16.
- July 13, 2025: Labour MP Diane Abbott faces a second suspension from the party over racially charged remarks.
- July 18, 2025: Nigel Farage announces plans to deport all illegal entrants and disallow asylum claims from those arriving on student or tourist visas.
- July 20, 2025: Farage unveils Reform UK’s criminal justice overhaul, including mandatory full sentences for violent offenders, 30,000 new prison places, and deportation of foreign criminals.
- July 21, 2025: Labour criticizes Farage’s proposals as divisive and fear-mongering, warning they could harm community cohesion.
- July 21, 2025: A JL Partners poll shows Reform UK leading Labour by 6 percentage points (29% to 23%), with the Conservatives down at 17%.