EU citizens and rights advocacy groups have condemned a new policy proposal from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party as “absolutely outrageous,” warning it would fundamentally violate the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and upend the lives of legally settled residents.

 

Reform UK plan to target EU nationals based in Britain ‘absolutely outrageous’

EU citizens and rights advocacy groups have condemned a new policy proposal from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party as “absolutely outrageous,” warning it would fundamentally violate the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and upend the lives of legally settled residents.

The Core Dispute

Under its updated migration platform, Reform UK has proposed severe restrictions on foreign nationals that would retroactively strip rights from individuals holding settled status under the post-Brexit EU Settlement Scheme. Rights organizations state this directly reneges on promises made during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign that legally residing EU citizens would maintain their permanent right to live and work in the country.

What Reform UK is Proposing

• Social Housing Evictions: Banning all foreign nationals from living in council housing, requiring current tenants to find private housing within three months or face deportation.
• Employment Disincentives: Introducing an extra tax or higher costs for British companies that choose to employ overseas nationals.
• Abolishing Indefinite Leave to Remain: Moving from permanent residency rights to a system of restricted five-year renewable work visas.

Domestic and International Backlash

Critics warn that implementing these policies would spark major legal and economic crises:

• Treaty Breaches: Overturning the EU Settlement Scheme would break the treaty signed between the UK and the European Union.
• Reciprocal Retaliation: European politicians and UK advocates warn that Brussels would almost certainly retaliate, jeopardizing the rights of the estimated 1.3 million British citizens living in EU member states.
• Economic Fallout: Opposition figures, including Liberal Democrats Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, stated that targeting long-term workers would "throw the economy into chaos" and severely impact sectors heavily reliant on European staff, such as the NHS and social care