Reform UK has announced it will prioritise areas controlled by the Green Party for new immigration detention centres if it wins power – a move that has been condemned as “abhorrent” by the Greens, and which arrives three days before Thursday’s Senedd election.
The announcement was made by Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, in a social media post by the party’s national account. He said a Reform government would build capacity to detain up to 24,000 people at a time as part of a planned mass deportation programme.
Under the proposal, Reform has pledged that no detention centre would be placed in any constituency with a Reform MP, or in any area where Reform controls a council. Of the remaining areas, the party says it would “prioritise” Green-held constituencies and Green-run councils as preferred locations.
“Given the Green Party advocate for open borders and for an infinite number of undocumented men to come here, we will prioritise Green constituencies and Green controlled councils to locate these detention centres,” Yusuf said.
The announcement is accompanied by a dedicated website – votegreengetillegals.com – which includes a postcode checker allowing users to see whether their area would be “prioritised” to receive a detention centre under the policy. The site uses polling data from the More in Common and JL Partners MRPs to determine projected political control at both Westminster constituency and council level.
The party’s planned Mass Deportation (Detention) Act would give ministers “absolute discretion” over the siting of new detention centres, removing current planning protections and offering no legal right to appeal. The policy forms part of Reform’s wider pledge to deport up to one million foreign nationals over five years.
Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali condemned the announcement. “Reform keep making abhorrent announcements to distract voters from the fact they want to privatise the NHS,” he said. “Greens are focused on building council housing, fixing our public services and bringing down the cost of living.”
The timing of the announcement – three days before polls open in Wales – is significant. The Greens are on course to win seats in the Senedd for the first time in history, with a new More in Common poll published this morning projecting five Green seats across Wales. The party needs five seats to qualify for official group status in the Senedd, unlocking more than £300,000 in additional funding.
The announcement does not relate directly to the Senedd, which has no powers over immigration – a matter reserved to the UK Government in Westminster. However it arrives at a moment when Reform UK is polling at 27% in Wales and is projected to win 34 seats in Thursday’s election – making it a significant presence in Welsh public life regardless of the Westminster context.
Immigration is not a devolved matter and any detention centre policy would be decided by the UK Government, not the Senedd. Welsh communities would have no recourse through their Senedd Members to challenge any siting decision under Reform’s proposed legislation, which would remove the right of local authorities to block unwanted facilities.
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