Former UKIP leader Douglas Carswell has advocated for extensive deportations from Britain, targeting both illegal residents and those he considers financially burdensome to the state.
Speaking to GB News presenter Steven Edginton, Mr Carswell expressed hope that Britain has entered an era of large-scale removals. He estimated that more than a million individuals currently reside in the UK without legal status.
Beyond illegal residents, Mr Carswell proposed removing legal migrants who represent what he termed a "net burden" on public resources. He specifically excluded pensioners drawing retirement benefits but suggested that working-age adults relying on state support should face removal.
"The truly unkind thing would be to allow people to stay here indefinitely at public expense," Mr Carswell stated, arguing that deportation represents "the moral thing to do."
Douglas Carswell wants mass deportations from Britain
|GB NEWS / PA
Mr Carswell highlighted demographic changes since the Brexit referendum, noting that approximately nine per cent of Britain's current population consists of first-generation immigrants who arrived after the 2016 vote.
He drew particular attention to London's social housing allocation, claiming that half of such accommodation is now occupied by recent arrivals. "We didn't build social housing so it could be used that way," he told GB News.
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The former politician also referenced the £11 billion annual cost of universal credit payments to recently arrived non-working residents. He argued these welfare systems weren't designed to support new arrivals living at state expense.
Mr Carswell suggested that a quarter of English schools now have majority non-white British student populations, which he claimed makes integration "impossible".
Mr Carswell spoke to Steven Edginton on GB News
|GB NEWS
Reform UK has announced plans to eliminate indefinite leave to remain status, affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of migrants currently holding this immigration permission.
Party leader Nigel Farage revealed the policy would apply retrospectively to existing status holders, not just future applicants. The party estimates 3.8 million migrants who entered Britain following the pandemic could qualify for indefinite leave between 2026 and 2030.
Under Reform's proposals, migrants would need to renew visas every five years, meeting stricter criteria including enhanced English language standards and higher salary requirements. The party claims abolishing permanent settlement rights could save £234 billion in future benefit payments.
Approximately 430,000 non-EU citizens granted initial visas from 2005 onwards currently hold indefinite leave without citizenship, according to Oxford University's Migration Observatory.
Mr Carswell is hopeful Britain is entering into a new era
|GB NEWS
Critics across the political spectrum have challenged these deportation proposals as unworkable and potentially harmful.
Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp dismissed Reform's plans as "half-baked and unworkable," accusing the party of copying Conservative policies whilst removing crucial enforcement details.
Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated the financial projections "have no basis in reality." The Centre for Policy Studies, which initially produced the £234 billion savings estimate, has withdrawn this figure.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the proposals, saying "threatening to deport people living and working here legally is unacceptable."
Immigration lawyer Ashley Stothard from Freeths described the plans as "outrageous," warning they would "undermine the rights of lawful migrants who have contributed to the UK socially, economically, and culturally."
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