Independent readers have responded strongly to Nigel Farage’s suggestion that indefinite leave to remain in the UK should be scrapped, with many branding it “unworkable” and warning it would devastate public services.
Several said the plan was “hare-brained” and unfair, particularly if it applies retrospectively to people who have already built their lives in Britain.
Critics argued that Farage was scapegoating migrants for problems in housing, the NHS and infrastructure, when in reality many work in essential industries and contribute to society.
One reader warned it would create a “perfect storm” for the NHS by stripping away both staff and funding, while another noted it would wreck the care sector, which relies heavily on migrant labour.
A minority of readers, however, voiced support, praising Farage for “telling the truth” and standing up for British citizens who feel overlooked. But most said his plans were divisive, legally unworkable and would do lasting damage to communities.
Here’s what you had to say:
A perfect storm for the NHS
The majority of the NHS budget is spent on the elderly, but paid for by working people. Much of the staff are also from abroad. Farage’s plans would present a perfect storm for the NHS. By removing working people and staff, with an increasing ageing population, the NHS would be starved of both funding and staff.
Ajames
A plan that reserves low-paid work
Leaving aside all of the major issues about it being completely unworkable, and that it would destroy vital services like the care sector. Let’s ‘hand wave’ those problems away for now like Farage does.
Can anyone explain to me how this is in the interest of British workers, even in principle? The plan would still allow high-paid immigrants to stay. So it basically amounts to a plan to reserve all of the low-paid, insecure, and physically damaging work for British people, while encouraging migrants to come over and work the high-paid, secure and cushy jobs.
Seems like the opposite would be better, no?
The Mark in remarkable
AI will always be cheaper
Farage is a tool that gets wheeled out whenever the rich want to make changes. But that doesn’t mean they want him to run the country.
Up till now they’ve been happy using foreign, cheap, overqualified labour, who’ve proven their work ethic by successfully navigating the gauntlet to get here. However, when new tech kicks in, no matter what poverty wages they offer, AI will always be cheaper, and the remaining population will still need to be supported. We’re already seeing this in America on a much larger scale. But just wait until they start deporting low-skilled American citizens as well. Because you can guarantee the UK will eventually do the same.
Ajames
This plan is hare-brained
This plan is hare-brained. What will happen to the NHS and the engineering sector, where to train a nurse, doctor or engineer will take many years? And who will train them?
And it is patently unfair to change rules retrospectively. Nigel should remember the old adage: let a thousand guilty go free lest one innocent be punished. I appreciate some of the concerns, so change the rules, bring new laws, yes, but not retrospectively.
Krispad
Gimmick
Yet another gimmick to grab the headlines and sow the seed of the unachievable in the mind of the gullible, just like Farage did over Brexit: and that fraud knows it wouldn’t work – for a start the NHS would collapse!
Kimbo22
Empty vessels
Farage’s modus operandi is unworkable stunts dreamed up to keep him in the headlines. He’s living proof that empty vessels make most sound, just like his orange hero.
rEUjoin
A cunning plan
It’s a cunning plan to force “indigenous Brits” into low wage jobs.
Farage knows he can make turkeys vote for Christmas as long as he points their attention towards (or rather against) foreigners. They love his plan.
Real European
That must be a relief for Nigel’s wife
Luckily any new ruling won’t apply to EU citizens who came to the UK prior to 2016.
That must be a relief for Nigel’s wife! Just think if she’d had to go back to France after Nigel, sorry Mrs Farage, spent all that money on a nice house in Clacton-on-Sea.
tommy2tops
Ok, I like Farage but…
Ok, I like Farage BUT I think this is wrong.
If the person has a British passport, or is in a vital industry (ie NHS), then they should be allowed to stay.
When my own wife came here on a visa, I had to prove I could support her, had a home, and she couldn’t claim anything. I had to pay thousands for a visa, and she had to sit an English test, AND swear loyalty to this country.
Karl
What I would like is limited immigration
For what it’s worth, what I would like is limited immigration, restrictions placed on working-age benefits to encourage full-time work, taxes on the wealthiest – especially focused on land and property – so we can boost spending on public services, the NHS, social housing and infrastructure.
At the moment, Reform are closest to this (of course, they won’t tax the wealthy who are their backers) but Labour and the Tories are nowhere. Unless Labour rebrand and change leader in the next two years, a Reform government is inevitable (unless Farage is caught up in a career-ending scandal).
ChrisMatthews
An economy doomed to failure
An economy that can only function by importing unskilled and low-skilled immigrants is one doomed to failure – especially as there are no provisions in place to support these additional workers in terms of housing, infrastructure and extra public services.
This is what the UK has seen over the last 20 years, and this is why Farage and Reform are leading the polls. We need a change, we need a better solution. At least Reform offer one (it probably won’t work of course) but all Starmer and the Tories offer is centrism, more of the same and hope for the best.
ChrisMatthews
It should be done slowly and discriminately
Totally agree with the sentiment, but it should be done slowly and discriminately. We should be inviting those who are not making, and have not made in the past, a meaningful contribution to our country to return home – and give them time to make the necessary plans. Whether it will make the savings claimed is a moot point.
Dogglebird
Immigration is a big issue
Immigration is a big issue for the majority of people. They see immigrants as the cause of all problems such as housing, the NHS and work – and of course that can be true but not entirely. In Holloway, Islington many roads are like third world countries, with people laying their goods on the pavements for sale. It has long been a very mixed area ethnically and has never been a problem, everyone just gets along, but this is changing.
Most of my neighbours are non-white, West Indians and Asians the majority. My barber is North African, my butcher is Afghani, so is my fish and chip shop proprietor. They are industrious and assimilate, their children speak English, I like them all.
There is a growing band that do not attempt to fit in and have no respect for our way of life. These are the ones not welcome by any others, no matter their origins.
Many have lost faith in the future, seeing this minority growing and becoming a bigger burden. This minority is why Reform is growing stronger.
Martyn
Finally, a politician with the courage
Finally, a politician with the courage to tell the truth and propose real solutions. Nigel Farage is absolutely right to tackle the issue of indefinite leave to remain. For too long, the British public has been sold a lie on immigration. We voted for Brexit to take back control of our borders, and instead, the Tory government opened the gates wider than ever.
The “Boris-wave” of migration has been a disaster for public services, housing, and community cohesion. The idea that hundreds of thousands of people who have come here should be given a lifetime pass to the UK welfare state is a “scam on the British people.” It betrays everyone who works hard and pays their taxes.
Critics are missing the point. Migration charities and think tanks have a vested interest in continual mass migration. They talk about “moral wrongs” – but what about the moral wrong inflicted on British citizens who see their wages undercut and their communities transformed without their consent? Farage is correct. Savings would be “considerably larger” than £230bn when you consider the long-term fiscal burden of granting welfare access to such a large number of people.
As for the care industry: successive governments have used mass migration as a cheap alternative to training our own workforce and funding social care properly. Reform’s policy will force a conversation about how we build a sustainable, well-paid care sector that doesn’t rely on indefinite immigration.
This isn’t about not wanting foreigners here; it’s about wanting a system that is fair, controlled, and sustainable. It’s about putting the interests of British citizens first. That’s not a stunt; it’s common sense, and it’s why Mr Farage and Reform are the only ones speaking for the silent majority.
Thomas
Isn’t Farage’s own family migrants?
Isn’t Farage’s own kids migrant workers? As well as his wife’s? He’s also worked abroad himself. How is he so against migrants? Or is it only migrants from certain countries? I’ve never heard him criticising American, French or German migrants.
Ajames
Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.
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