Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has proposed transferring some prisoners overseas to serve their sentences. This is part of a broader set of measures he claims would create approximately 30,000 prison places at a cost of £17.4 billion.
During an event in London, Farage also outlined plans to construct five new prisons, repatriate foreign prisoners to their countries of origin, and recruit 30,000 police officers.
Farage asserted that the UK is “facing nothing short of societal collapse” and that a Reform government would aim to halve crime within five years.
The Labour Party has described these policies as “unfunded,” while the Conservatives have accused Farage of offering “tough talk without the faintest idea how to deliver it.”
When questioned about the funding mechanisms for these policies, Farage stated that tax increases would not be necessary, emphasizing Reform’s commitment to “cutting huge amounts of public spending,” including the HS2 rail project and net-zero initiatives.
He argued that crime costs the British economy £170 billion annually, stating, “It isn’t really a question of can we afford to do this – it is really a question of can we afford not to do this?”
Reform UK estimates that its proposals would require an investment of £17.4 billion over five years, translating to an annual cost of £3.48 billion.
Plans to hire additional police officers account for £10.5 billion of the total projected expenditure.
Farage stated that a Reform government would prioritize a “higher and physically tougher standard of police officer on our streets.”
Discussing this measure on 5 Live with Matt Chorley, Reform MP Sarah Pochin said: “I never like to see two female police officers out together… I’d much rather see a great big strapping male police officer with a female.”
“I think they look vulnerable, but that’s just my opinion,” she added.
She further clarified: “But there’s 100% a place for women police officers.”
“We need them to go out to certain, perhaps more sensitive situations – situations where children are involved, situations where battered wives are involved or battered girlfriends, that type of thing.”
To increase prison capacity, Farage announced plans to invest £5 billion in constructing and operating five new low-security ‘Nightingale’ prisons on Ministry of Defence land, providing 12,400 spaces for “lower category offenders.”
The Nightingale label references the network of emergency temporary hospitals established during the Covid pandemic.
Farage indicated a willingness to compel Reform-led councils to accept new prisons in their areas, emphasizing the potential for creating well-paid jobs in local communities.
Reform also proposes creating 10,400 spaces by transferring foreign prisoners to their countries of origin. In exchange, the UK would be prepared to accept British offenders serving sentences abroad, he said.
An additional 10,000 prison places could be secured by sending serious offenders to serve their sentences abroad, at an estimated cost of £1.25 billion, according to the party.
Farage stated that his party would consider multiple locations, citing Kosovo, Estonia, and El Salvador as possibilities. However, when questioned about El Salvador’s human rights record, he acknowledged it as an “extreme example.”
Earlier this year, the El Salvadorian President offered to accommodate prisoners from the US, including American citizens, in El Salvador’s mega-jail.
Other countries have pursued similar arrangements. In 2021, Denmark agreed to pay Kosovo an annual fee of £12.8 million for an initial five-year period to rent 300 prison spaces.
Successive UK governments have reportedly explored the possibility of sending prisoners to Estonia.
Sources have indicated to the BBC that both former Conservative ministers and current Labour ministers have concluded that such a plan would be prohibitively expensive.
In September of last year, the government stated that it was “making no such plans or announcements in relation to Estonian prison places.”
A growing prison population, coupled with a shortage of new prisons, has placed considerable strain on the system.
According to recent figures, there are 87,835 individuals incarcerated in prisons in England and Wales, while the usable operational capacity stands at 89,582.
Last year, the Prison Governors’ Association cautioned that prisons were nearing capacity, prompting the government to release some inmates early.
In response to the speech, Labour Party chair Ellie Reeves stated that Reform was “more interested in headline-chasing than serious policy-making in the interests of the British people.”
She added that Labour was “backing up its word with action,” highlighting the party’s plan to hire 13,000 more police officers and community support officers by the time of the next election in 2029.
Conservative shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: “This isn’t a manifesto – it’s a fantasy.”
“Farage’s numbers are billions out. You don’t halve crime with wishful thinking. You do it with a real plan, real costs, and real leadership.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “I don’t follow the words of Nigel Farage very closely. They’re normally stuff written on the back of a fag packet.”
He added that one of the best ways to tackle crime was “to make sure we have far more community police officers – that’s what Liberal Democrats would do”.
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