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Reform UK just announced it could deport unaccompanied children if it formed a government — then, within 24 hours, Nigel Farage U-turned.

It’s the latest in a pattern of events: say something shocking to grab headlines, then retreat when it blows up. But doesn’t that tell us something fundamental?

Announce, retreat, repeat: Reform’s policy incoherence

Zia Yusuf, architect of the deportation plan, said unaccompanied minors could be deported in the “latter half” of Reform’s five-year scheme.

Farage implied women and children would be detained, then rowed back to say deporting children is “not part of our plan for the next five years.”

Then he clarified: women without children would still be deported, but women with children “aren’t top of the list”(1).

In less than 48 hours, they gave us three different lines.

This isn’t an isolated case. The same week saw Reform announce it would deport all small-boat arrivals, with no exceptions — a claim Farage had to retract the next day, clarifying that the quota only applied to men. (2)

In Wales, a regional spokesperson declared Reform UK would deliver “net-zero immigration,” leave the European Convention on Human Rights, and physically turn boats around. It made a splash — but fell apart on scrutiny, not least because “net zero immigration” is a slogan without a working definition. (3)

Even the party’s provisional manifesto tripped itself up. It promised offshore processing of asylum claims in British Overseas Territories. But on live radio, Farage admitted it was “not terribly practical” and appeared to drop the idea altogether. (4)

What emerges here is not a credible programme of government but a pattern of stunt politics:

• Announce something incendiary to capture headlines.

• Retreat when faced with questions of legality, feasibility, or morality.

• Leave the public confused but dominate the media cycle.

The consequences are serious. This cycle

• erodes public trust,
• shows Reform has no worked-through policy framework, and
• exposes its reliance on shock politics over statecraft.

If this is how Reform UK behaves in opposition — lobbing grenades and then scrambling to pick up the pieces — how could they possibly govern?

The U-turns are the message

Reform’s behaviour invites ridicule:

The Liberal Democrats called it a “U-turn” before the ink was dry.

Even Kemi Badenoch — not exactly a liberal voice — mocked Farage for not doing his homework, saying it “vindicated” her slower, more cautious approach(5).

This is how Reform UK behaves in opposition — lobbing grenades and then scrambling to pick up the pieces of its own plans.

The public takeaway is that Reform UK throws out soundbites, not policies.

False confidence, real danger

It is probably true that Reform UK’s leaders want to deport 600,000 people — when current deportation levels are only slightly more than 10,000 per year.

They’re promising 24,000 new detention places in 18 months, but won’t say where, or how to square the £2 billion “bribe fund” for foreign governments with their declared policy of “fiscal restraint”.

Every walk-back shows they know their numbers don’t add up — but they keep coming out with them anyway.

Can you really trust them?

If a party can’t hold its line on a central immigration policy for more than a day, how could it ever negotiate with Brussels, Washington, or Dublin?

Voters are being sold slogans, not governance.

Vox Political‘s verdict

Reform UK’s problem isn’t that their policies are “too bold” or “too ambitious” – the problem is they don’t actually exist as policies.

They are stunts — designed to make headlines, rile up the base, and then melt away under scrutiny.

Nobody can build a government on stunts – and that is why Nigel Farage cannot be trusted with power.

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