Farage pledges target to halve crime if Reform enter government

Reform UK will aim to halve crime in five years if they get into government in Westminster Nigel Farage has announced, as he estimated a £17.4 billion bill to achieve it.

Proposals to recruit more police officers and create new prison places contribute to the estimated £3.48 billion annual bill for the party’s plans on crime and justice.

Speaking at a press conference in Westminster on Monday, Mr Farage said: “Reform will be the toughest party on law and order and on crime that this country has ever seen.

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'Take back control' 

“We will aim to cut crime by half in the first five years of Reform government. We will take back control of our streets. We will take back control of our courts, of our prisons.

“If you’re a criminal, I am putting you on notice today that from 2029 or whenever that may be, either you obey the law or you will face very serious justice,” he added.

Documents handed out at Monday’s press conference show that the party estimate a £17.4 billion cost over the course of a five year parliament for their plans, with a £3.48 billion annual cost.

Plans to recruit 30,000 more police officers take up the biggest chunk of this bill, estimated at £10.5 billion overall.

Mr Farage has pledged 12,400 new prison places on MoD land at a cost of £5 billion, and five new “Nightingale Prisons” to be built with the assistance of the Army.

He also wants to see more than 10,000 more prison places freed up by deporting foreign criminals to their country of origin through bilateral agreements, and Mr Farage said he was “in conversation with Edi Rama”, the Albanian prime minister over prisoners.

The two leaders have been involved in a social media spat over the matter.

In a video on social media posted last month, Mr Farage said he would visit Albania and “report back” after an invitation from Mr Rama.

In response, Mr Rama said: “I genuinely hope your upcoming visit to Albania inspires you to fight for ideas, rather than against people — in the spirit of the great liberal tradition your country has long stood for.”

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Overseas prisons

The party also wants prison places overseas in places such as El Salvador, a “dynamic prisons” policy that the party estimates will cost £1.25 billion over the course of a parliament.

Mr Farage said that he would be prepared to take back British criminals who are in foreign prisons as part of his plans.

He told reporters at the press conference that “of course we’re prepared to take British prisoners from other parts of the world.

“That’s fair, right and proper.”

Mr Farage pledged that Monday’s event was the start of a six-week campaign on law and order, as Parliament is about to begin its summer recess break.

Labour chairwoman Ellie Reeves claimed “Reform is more interested in headline-chasing than serious policy-making in the interests of the British people”.

She added: “Farage’s Reform MPs voted against the Labour Government’s landmark Crime and Policing Bill which tackles antisocial behaviour, shoplifting, violence against women and girls, knife crime, and child abuse.”