After six months of planning, Reform's immigration policy is as clear as mud

Reform's plan was meant to be detailed. Instead, there's more confusion.

The party had grown weary of the longstanding criticism that their tough talk on immigration did not come with a full proposal for what they would do to tackle small boats if they came to power.

So, after six months of planning, yesterday they attempted to put flesh on the bones of their flagship policy.

At an expensive press conference in a vast air hanger in Oxford, the headline news was clear: Reform UK would deport anyone who comes here by small boat, arresting, detaining and then deporting up to 600,000 people in the first five years of governing.

They would leave international treaties and repeal the Human Rights Act to do it

But, one day later, that policy is clear as mud when it comes to who this would apply to.

I asked Farage at the time of the announcement whether this would apply to women and girls - an important question - as the basis for their extreme policy seemed to hinge on the safety of women and girls in the UK.

He was unequivocal: "Yes, women and children, everybody on arrival will be detained.

"And I've accepted already that how we deal with children is a much more complicated and difficult issue."

But a day later, he appeared to row back on this stance at a press conference in Scotland, saying Reform is "not even discussing women and children at this stage".

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He later clarified that if a single woman came by boat, then they could fall under the policy, but if "a woman comes with children, we will work out the best thing to do".

A third clarification in the space of 24 hours on a flagship policy they worked on over six months seems like a pretty big gaffe, and it only feeds into the Labour criticism that these plans aren't yet credible.

If they had hoped to pivot from rhetoric to rigour, this announcement showed serious pitfalls.

But party strategists probably will not be tearing out too much hair over this, with polling showing Reform UK still as the most trusted party on the issue of immigration overall.

(c) Sky News 2025: After six months of planning, Reform's immigration policy is as clear as mud