POLL: Are Reform right to dump migrants in towns that vote Green? Have your say

Reform UK has said it would open migrant detention centres for people awaiting deportation in areas that vote for the Green Party. This comes after the party previously said it would build removal centres in remote areas of the country if elected, as part of plans to detain up to 24,000 people within 18 months.

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson, said Green-controlled areas would be prioritised because of what he described as the party’s support for “open borders”. Nigel Farage’s party – which currently has 8 MPS in the Commons, including Tory defectors Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman – has committed to not placing these sites in areas with a Reform MP or where Reform controls the council.

Mr Yusuf said: “Reform UK has committed to deporting all illegal migrants in Britain, a policy the majority of British people support. In order to do so, we will need to detain migrants while they await deportation.

“Even though illegal migrants will not be allowed to leave the sites, we are committing to not placing these detention sites in areas with a Reform MP or where Reform controls the council. Given the Green Party advocate for open borders and for an infinite number of undocumented men to come here, we will prioritise Green constituencies and Green controlled councils to locate these detention centres.

“This is the fairest approach to ensuring democratic consent for all aspects of our mass deportation programme.”

In response, a Green Party spokesperson said it was a “disgusting idea” and accused Reform of “making abhorrent announcements in attempts to distract voters” from its other policies. “We want a fair and managed immigration system,” the spokesperson added. “We recognise we have an ageing population and agree the current system is broken, but we are not into performative cruelty.”

The party has previously said it “wants to see a world without borders,” but its leader, Zack Polanski, told Sky News last year that open borders were “not a pragmatic” solution for a world in “turmoil”.

It comes after the Green Party’s migration policies, which were previously voted on and passed by members, included abolishing immigration detention, giving illegal arrivals visas, providing asylum seekers with accommodation and allowing asylum seekers to lawfully work.

These have now been removed from its website.

Constituencies with Green MPs currently include Gorton and Denton in Manchester, Bristol Central, North Herefordshire, Waveney Valley on the Norfolk-Suffolk border and Brighton Pavilion.

Both the Greens and Reform UK are set to make major gains at local elections on Thursday (May 7), including potentially becoming the largest party on multiple councils.