Reform UK’s pledge to build new detention centres for people awaiting deportation in areas that vote for the Green Party has been branded “grotesque” by rival parties.
Nigel Farage’s party also promised that none of the hubs would open in places with a Reform council or MP if the party wins the next election. Instead, it said, it would “prioritise” sending migrants to Green-held areas because Zack Polanski’s party supports “open borders”.
But Mr Farage faced an immediate backlash over the policy, as his party was slammed for a “contempt for all voters – including their own” after critics pointed out many of its own backers live in areas which might ultimately vote for another party, such as the Greens.
Labour Party chair Anna Turley said:“This grotesque policy reveals Reform’s contempt for all voters – including their own.
“Threatening to punish places where people don’t vote your way is a betrayal of basic democratic principles.
“Nigel Farage has sunk to a new low: he is clearly more interested in stoking division and anger than in serving the whole country.”
She also accused the Reform leader of not caring about fixing the system, adding “he just wants to drive a toxic wedge between our communities”.
The policy announcement comes as both Reform and the Greens are expected to be the big winners in Thursday’s council elections in England, while Labour faces potentially disastrous results that could place Keir Starmer’s role as leader in jeopardy.
Reform says it will build detention centres to hold up to 24,000 migrants who are awaiting deportation at any one time.
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, has now pledged that none of the new centres will be built in areas that elect Reform councils or MPs.
He said: “A Reform government will not put any migrant detention facilities in any constituency with a Reform MP Nor will we put them where Reform controls the council.
And of the remaining areas, we will prioritise Green controlled parliamentary constituencies and Green controlled councils. “Put simply, if you vote in a Reform council or Reform MP, we guarantee you won’t have a detention centre near you.If you vote Green, there’s a good chance you will.”
A Green Party spokesman said: “Reform keep making unserious announcements to try and distract voters from the fact they want to privatise our NHS.”
In Scotland, where Holyrood elections also take place on Thursday, Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer likened the policy to “bullying” of the electorate.
“Reform UK are now openly threatening voters,” he said. “Scots will not take kindly to this kind of bullying.”
