"This is the fairest approach to ensuring democratic consent"
Reform UK has said it would open migrant detention centres in areas that vote for the Green Party of England and Wales, as part of its proposed deportation plans.
The party has previously outlined plans to build removal centres in remote locations if elected. It aims to detain up to 24,000 people within 18 months.
Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, said Green-controlled areas would be prioritised, linking the move to what he described as the party’s support for “open borders”.
A Green Party spokesperson rejected the proposal and said it was a “disgusting idea” and accused Reform of “making abhorrent announcements in attempts to distract voters” from its wider policies.
The spokesperson added: “We want a fair and managed immigration system.
“We recognise we have an ageing population and agree the current system is broken, but we are not into performative cruelty.”
Reform UK has also said it would avoid placing detention centres in areas where it has an MP or controls the council.
Yusuf said: “Given the Green Party advocates for open borders and for an infinite number of undocumented men to come here, we will prioritise Green constituencies and Green-controlled councils to locate these detention centres.
“This is the fairest approach to ensuring democratic consent for all aspects of our mass deportation programme.”
The Green Party has previously said it “wants to see a world without borders”.
However, its co-leader Zack Polanski previously said that open borders were “not a pragmatic” solution in a world facing instability.
Criticism has also come from across the political spectrum.
Anna Turley, chair of the Labour Party, described the proposal as a “grotesque policy”.
She said Nigel Farage wanted to “drive a toxic wedge between our communities” and “doesn’t care about fixing the system”.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary for the Conservative Party, said:
“Reform is not a serious party and this is not a serious policy. It is clearly made up on the spot for a social media video.”
Max Wilkinson, home affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, described it as “a squabble between two parties who don’t have the solutions to bring about a safe, fair and controlled asylum system in our country”.
John Swinney also criticised the idea, saying it showed the “dangerous nature of Reform’s politics” and was an “attempt to divide communities”.
Reform UK said it would introduce a Mass Deportation Detention Act.
The legislation would give the Home Secretary powers to prevent councils from blocking the opening of detention centres.
The party said individuals held in the centres would not be able to leave. They would remain there for around two weeks before deportation.
Official figures from the current prison building programme show it costs about £500,000 per bed to construct closed facilities. This is broadly in line with immigration removal centre standards.
Based on those figures, building 24,000 detention spaces could cost around £12bn.
In its 2024 general election manifesto, the Green Party called for “an end to immigration detention for all migrants unless they are a danger to public safety”.
Loading ...