The boats in the channel would be intercepted by the Navy and returned to France or Belgium under a plan called \u201coperation fortress\u201d.<\/p>\n
The party proposes to set up a joint military command with units from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British army as well as a surveillance command to track incoming boats.<\/p>\n
Similar proposals have been suggested by the Conservatives before, but never materialised due to concerns around legality and the potential flouting of international treaties.<\/p>\n
Last Wednesday was the busiest day for small boat crossings across the Channel so far this year, with 752 people arriving in the UK, as the Guardian\u2019s political correspondent, Alexandra Topping, notes in this story<\/a>.<\/p>\n But official provisional figures indicate that 14,526 have entered the UK so far in 2026, 43% lower than the number recorded by this time last year (25,436) and down 14% on the same period in 2024 (16,903).<\/p>\n In reaction to Reform\u2019s pledge, a Labour party spokesperson said Nigel Farage\u2019s party \u201chave reheated an old announcement in their latest desperate bid to distract from their growing sleaze scandals\u201d.<\/p>\n Retired Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe, meanwhile, suggested the proposal \u201clacks quite a lot of substance\u201d. \u201cWe have the border force already to do this,\u201d he told the BBC\u2019s Today programme.<\/p>\n Farage is fighting a byelection after resigning his seat of Clacton in an attempt to shake off a deepening donations scandal, given charge by a revelation<\/a> from the Guardian\u2019s City editor, Anna Issac, that he had failed to declare a \u00a35m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.<\/p>\n All other mainstream parties have declined to stand a candidate against him, making a mockery of what Farage tried to frame as a \u201cpeople versus the establishment\u201d byelection. Farage is set to comfortably win the contest \u2013 but has gifted the political stage to the new government who have announced a raft of policies and been on a media blitz over recent weeks.<\/p>\n Reform UK\u2019s increasingly hard-right policies and rhetoric come as it loses support to Restore Britain, a breakaway party even further to the right which is led by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.<\/p>\n Lowe has been a thorn in Farage\u2019s side since he was stripped of the Reform party whip last year after being accused of bullying and making alleged threats against the then party chair, Zia Yusuf, claims that he denies.<\/p>\n In a surprise move over the weekend<\/a>, Lowe extended an olive branch to Farage, offering him a deal to unite the so-called \u201cpatriotic right\u201d of British politics, as Andy Burnham improves Labour\u2019s polling and aims to win back some of the same voters Reform UK is targeting.<\/p>\n In a statement not explicitly mentioning the offer from Restore or Rupert Lowe\u2019s name, Farage said he recognised the need to accept support from other parties and said Reform has \u201calways been open to anyone\u201d.<\/p>\n Farage will appear at a press conference in Westminster alongside Zia Yusuf, Reform\u2019s home affairs spokesperson, from 11am. He will likely be asked about the potential Reform-Restore pact, his Royal Navy policy and his finances.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.14 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n In other news, the chancellor, John Healey<\/a>, has said the government is standing by to prevent the public from \u201cbeing taken for a ride at the pump or the till\u201d as the Iran war continues to hit prices.<\/p>\n While he said there had been \u201cno significant evidence of so-called price gouging\u201d during the crisis, he used a weekend column to tell the big retailers that ministers were \u201cwatching closely\u201d for any signs of profiteering.<\/p>\n Healey faces a difficult economic balancing act as the energy price shock caused by the months-long conflict<\/a> in the Middle East reignites the cost of living crisis.<\/p>\n Last week the Bank of England kept UK interest rates on hold<\/a> as it warned that a further escalation in the Iran war could drive inflation above 4% next year, adding to financial pressures on households.<\/p>\n Healey\u2019s comments came as a new report warned that UK economy could fall into recession next year if the crucial Strait of Hormuz remains closed into 2027 amid a prolonged conflict. You can read more on this story here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.24 EDT<\/p>\n Speaking to Sky News<\/a>, Zia Yusuf expressed disappointment in Reform UK\u2019s performance in both the Manchester mayoral election and the Makerfield parliamentary election.<\/p>\n The party\u2019s home affairs spokesperson said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe have had a few election results that have been disappointing. And we acknowledge that. We look at that. We want to keep learning and we want to keep listening to voters and making sure that we\u2019re making the case for why we need a Reform government.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Former navy officer criticises Reform plan to use military to stop small boats<\/p>\n The political saliency of the UK\u2019s policies around illegal migration has risen since tens of thousands of people from Morocco crossed in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta last week<\/a>, causing dozens of people to die (including by drowning or being crushed) and triggered a political crisis for Madrid. Spanish officials have subsequently said that almost all those who reached Ceuta on Thursday have since returned.<\/p>\n Reform UK\u2019s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, said his party\u2019s small boats plan was partly inspired by what he saw in Ceuta. He told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme this morning:<\/p>\n double quotation markI saw soldiers using pepper spray into interacting directly with migrants that were acting in a disorderly fashion.<\/p>\n And in using the military, what I saw was Spain was able to remove, effectively send back, what looked like north of 40,000 illegal migrants in the space of a day.<\/p>\n Former Royal Naval Cmdr Tom Sharpe cast doubt over the feasibility of Reform\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you start looking at what ships we have, which is basically none \u2013 I mean, he\u2019s talking about the largest maritime operation in the Channel since World War Two, a very evocative image, but that\u2019s not the reality,\u201d Sharpe told the Today programme.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have the ships,\u201d he said, adding that using warships might be a waste of resources, if their anti-air and anti-submarine capabilities were better suited to other scenarios.<\/p>\n He said Border Force is already set up to intercept people trying to reach Britain, and warned that Paris could end up refusing to accept migrants being taken to French shores by the Royal Navy<\/a>.<\/p>\n Responding to the scenario, Yusuf said it would be a \u201ccrime against humanity\u201d not to let them disembark. He added that given migrants have died crossing the English Channel, the boats would be \u201cfull of innocent civilians who are being rescued as part of a humanitarian mission\u201d.<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on platform.x.com. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.07 EDT<\/p>\n Rupert Lowe urges Nigel Farage to work with Restore Britain The leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, told the Reform UK<\/a> leader, Nigel Farage, that if he was \u201cprepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we\u201d.<\/p>\n In a video posted on X on Sunday, Lowe said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI truly believe there could be sufficient common ground for our two movements to cooperate collectively, destroy the looming leftwing alliance that will finish off what hope remains for this country.<\/p>\n In my view, failing to even try because of our own personal difficulties is simply not an option. Now is the time to put our differences aside and cooperate for the good of the country that we all love.<\/p>\n The offer comes after Restore Britain placed fourth in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection, where its candidate, Marlon West, took 8.7% of the vote. Reform\u2019s Sian Astley came second on 21%, behind Labour\u2019s Andy Burnham\u2019s successor, Bev Craig.<\/p>\n Rupert Lowe told Nigel Farage they should work together \u2013 but only if the Reform UK leader agrees to five conditions. Photograph: Ben Whitley\/PA<\/p>\n Lowe asked Farage to put \u201cpersonalities and our past disagreements aside\u201d and he set five conditions for cooperation:<\/p>\n Mass deportation of illegal migrants \u201cincluding women and children\u201d.<\/p>\n Tougher rules on legal migration, a ban on halal and kosher slaughter, the burqa, cousin marriage and sharia courts.<\/p>\n A referendum on the death penalty.<\/p>\n Welfare cuts to fund \u201cself-sufficiency\u201d.<\/p>\n The exclusion of former Tory ministers from any future cabinet.<\/p>\n \u201cMass deportations must become a political inevitability,\u201d he said. \u201cThey must all go.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Reform UK’s pledge to use Navy to stop small boats criticised ahead of press conference<\/p>\n Good morning and welcome to our coverage of UK politics. Reform UK is today pledging to use the Royal Navy<\/a> to stop small boat crossings if the party wins the next general election.<\/p>\n The boats in the channel would be intercepted by the Navy and returned to France or Belgium under a plan called \u201coperation fortress\u201d.<\/p>\n The party proposes to set up a joint military command with units from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, RAF and British army as well as a surveillance command to track incoming boats.<\/p>\n Similar proposals have been suggested by the Conservatives before, but never materialised due to concerns around legality and the potential flouting of international treaties.<\/p>\n Last Wednesday was the busiest day for small boat crossings across the Channel so far this year, with 752 people arriving in the UK, as the Guardian\u2019s political correspondent, Alexandra Topping, notes in this story<\/a>.<\/p>\n But official provisional figures indicate that 14,526 have entered the UK so far in 2026, 43% lower than the number recorded by this time last year (25,436) and down 14% on the same period in 2024 (16,903).<\/p>\n In reaction to Reform\u2019s pledge, a Labour party spokesperson said Nigel Farage\u2019s party \u201chave reheated an old announcement in their latest desperate bid to distract from their growing sleaze scandals\u201d.<\/p>\n Retired Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe, meanwhile, suggested the proposal \u201clacks quite a lot of substance\u201d. \u201cWe have the border force already to do this,\u201d he told the BBC\u2019s Today programme.<\/p>\n Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK is losing support to Restore Britain. Photograph: James Veysey\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Farage is fighting a byelection after resigning his seat of Clacton in an attempt to shake off a deepening donations scandal, given charge by a revelation<\/a> from the Guardian\u2019s City editor, Anna Issac, that he had failed to declare a \u00a35m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.<\/p>\n All other mainstream parties have declined to stand a candidate against him, making a mockery of what Farage tried to frame as a \u201cpeople versus the establishment\u201d byelection. Farage is set to comfortably win the contest \u2013 but has gifted the political stage to the new government who have announced a raft of policies and been on a media blitz over recent weeks.<\/p>\n Reform UK\u2019s increasingly hard-right policies and rhetoric come as it loses support to Restore Britain, a breakaway party even further to the right which is led by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe.<\/p>\n Lowe has been a thorn in Farage\u2019s side since he was stripped of the Reform party whip last year after being accused of bullying and making alleged threats against the then party chair, Zia Yusuf, claims that he denies.<\/p>\n![\"Nigel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5392.jpg\")
Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK is losing support to Restore Britain. Photograph: James Veysey\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Sarah_Butler_Next_Gen.png\")
Sarah Butler<\/p>\n![\"Morgan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Morgan_Ofori.png\")
Morgan Ofori<\/p>\n