Farage’s plan to scrap indefinite leave to remain would ‘trash UK’s reputation’ and be blocked in court, lawyers say
Lawyers respond to Reform’s plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain
- Nigel Farage's Reform party plans to retrospectively scrap indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for non-EU migrants, potentially forcing tens of thousands to re-apply under stricter rules.
- Immigration lawyers have warned that this policy would likely be blocked by the courts, citing the principle of “legitimate expectation” and the undermining of the rule of law.
- Legal experts argue that changing laws retrospectively for those already settled in the UK would be successfully challenged, regardless of the UK's membership in the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Critics, including a former Tory solicitor general and Labour figures, condemned the plan as running “counter to British values” “extreme and divisive” and damaging to Britain's reputation for fairness.
- Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer labelled the policy “racist” and “immoral”, contrasting it with measures against illegal migration, while Reform UK defended it as prioritising British citizens.