Reform's Deportation Pledge Targets a Scheme That Barely Exists Yet

Nigel Farage says a Reform government would "immediately end" the UK Resettlement Scheme and deport anyone who arrived under it. The Reform UK leader told The Telegraph that "Britain is not obligated to take in more migrants, and under a Reform government, these people will not be able to stay." The party says it would also revoke residents' right to remain if they are not considered to be in danger in their home country. The policy is due to be announced next Monday alongside other immigration plans.

The scheme Farage wants to scrap was reopened for new referrals by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood on 28 September 2026. Mahmood said the UK wants to "live up to our international obligations" while keeping the process "capped and controlled." The Home Office expects around 25% of arrivals to be Afghan women and girls and Palestinians — hundreds at first, rising to the "low thousands."

The Palestinian route is narrower than that framing implies. The body administering it confirmed it would refer only "a very small number of extremely urgent cases," all processed in Jordan and Lebanon. That prompted accusations from Communities for Palestinians that Gazans had been given false hope.

So the two parties are fighting over a small group. Reform promises to remove people Labour has just invited in; Labour's invitation covers fewer people, and with more conditions, than its announcement suggested.

Separately, Home Office impact assessment documents released after Mahmood introduced the immigration and asylum bill show 55% of those refused under proposed article 8 reforms are expected to remain in the UK, with another 11,700 claims rejected annually.