Overview
- Reform UK says it would open a national inquiry that compels Boris Johnson and Priti Patel to give sworn evidence over migration decisions made in government.
- The party’s report, citing official data that recorded 944,000 net migration in the year to March 2023 and 3.8 million long‑term visas since 2021, claims 1.6 million arrivals from 2021 to 2024 are on track for Indefinite Leave to Remain—permanent residency that unlocks full welfare access—with lifetime public costs of about £622.5 billion, or roughly £20,000 per household.
- Reform sets out alternatives that include scrapping Indefinite Leave to Remain, switching to five‑year renewable visas, raising salary thresholds for entry, removing welfare for non‑citizens, and leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
- The Conservative Party dismisses the inquiry plan as cheap political theatrics that would waste public money, with Chris Philp saying the party now backs tighter immigration controls under Kemi Badenoch.
- Labour’s Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood backs longer waits for settlement—reported as 10 to 15 years, with even longer waits for those on state support—yet faces a pushback led by Angela Rayner that could weaken the plan.