Reform UK accused of 'stealing' immigration policy by top Tory: 'We announced it months ago!'

Speaking to GB News this morning, Reform UK's home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf unveiled radical plans to overhaul Britain’s immigration system.

He made clear: "If you vote for a Reform Government, my promise is this. We will secure our borders and stop the invasion and deport every illegal migrant in the country.

"We will get our police focused on one thing, detecting crime investigating crime and arresting criminals. A country without a culture is simply an economic zone.

"We will grant all churches in this country listed status and create a new class to ensure they are not turned into a place of worship for any other faith."

Pressed by host Ellie Costello on whether the Conservatives would support Mr Yusuf's policy, Mr O'Brien responded: "That's something that the Conservatives announced months and months ago.

"So yes, this is something that we would support, because we announced it in the first place.

"So yeah, absolutely. Where countries won't take back their foreign nationals who are visa overstays or they're foreign criminals, obviously we shan't be granting them new visas if they're not going to be helpful to us in any way."

Mr O'Brien also addressed the Conservative announcement on student loan reforms, acknowledging that while the principle of graduates contributing to their education costs remains sound, significant problems have emerged.

He pointed to research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, telling GB News: "The Institute for Fiscal Studies, for example, says that about 30 per cent of those who are graduating in the North East, it's not worth it economically for them to have gone."

The shadow minister argued that too many university courses simply fail to deliver value for students.

In response, the Conservatives are proposing to reintroduce controls on student numbers and reduce enrolment on courses deemed to offer poor economic returns, with the resulting savings redirected towards alternative policies.

The party has pledged to establish 100,000 additional apprenticeship places for young people, funded through the savings generated by cutting lower-value degree programmes.

Mr O'Brien emphasised the quality of these vocational alternatives, noting: "We know that the average level four apprentice actually earns more than the average graduate."

He described the proposed apprenticeships as "really high quality" opportunities that would provide genuine career prospects for school leavers.

The shadow minister suggested this approach would deliver better economic outcomes for individuals whilst simultaneously addressing skills shortages in key sectors.

Mr O'Brien described the situation facing these borrowers as a "debt treadmill," explaining: "They pay a load of money and they're paying nine per cent of everything above the repayment threshold, and yet, at the end of the year, having paid loads of this money back, they see that their balance, their student loan balance, has actually gone up because the interest rates are so high."

He called this situation "completely unfair" and "crushing" for young people.

The second element of the student loan reform targets those who borrowed under Plan 2 arrangements between 2012 and 2022, who currently face interest charges of three percentage points above inflation.

The Conservatives have committed £2billion annually to abolish real interest rates on these loans, enabling graduates to retain more of their earnings and make genuine progress in reducing their debt.