How would Reform fix ‘lawless Britain'?

Times

3 days ago

Every week is now crime week for Reform UK. As MPs have retreated to their constituencies over the summer to tend to grassroots campaigning, Nigel Farage is filling the void with a run of announcements on his new favourite theme: crime and the rising levels of antisocial behaviour. His pitch, bleakly entitled 'Britain is lawless', seeks to capitalise on general unease about rising criminality and a sense that offences are not being pursued or prosecuted with sufficient vigour.
Mr Farage ramped up his rhetoric yesterday by calling for the ethnicity of suspects charged with rape and sexual assaults to be made public. Citing the wave of protests at hotels housing asylum seekers, he said there was 'rising public anger' over the issue. He also spoke of a 'cover-up', citing the controversy over Warwickshire police's ­decision not to release the immigration status of two men arrested for the alleged rape of a girl in Nuneaton. Reform's leader said the illegal ­asylum problem was no longer only about fairness for taxpayers but the 'safety of women and children'.
Mr Farage has a point on data. It is troubling that there has been a five-fold increase in convictions in which ethnicity has not been recorded. Police may feel squeamish about publishing such data but failing to do so will encourage the belief, happily promoted by the far right, that there is something to hide. Neil O'Brien, the Conservative MP, has warned that this culture of secrecy also makes it harder to join the dots in tackling crime. Equal candour is needed in disclosing how many criminals have been born abroad and how many have entered illegally. Voters are entitled to know.
As part of its push on crime Reform has appointed Vanessa Frake, a former prison governor, as the party's new adviser on criminal justice. Ms Frake promoted 'super-max' prisons, inspired by institutions in America for prisoners who are considered incapable of rehabilitation. She claimed these tougher institutions would 'restore law and order' and end the 'sorry tale' that is Britain's crumbling penal system. Yet, as is often the case within Reform, Ms Frake has found herself immediately at odds with the party's leadership. She ­believes, wrongly, there should be no blanket ban on trans women in female prisons, preferring for prisoners to be assessed individually.
This fracas highlights a continuing problem within Reform. While it — or rather, Mr Farage — is adept at tapping into the public mood, fully thought-through solutions are lacking. In his understanding of public sentiment outside the Westminster bubble, Mr Farage has sensibly heeded the advice of Jonathan Swift: 'It is the folly of too many to mistake the echo of a London coffee-house for the voice of the kingdom.' Mr Farage was one of the first to sound the alarm over small boats and on the mark when it came to the excesses of net zero. The same is true of his focus on tackling the likes of shoplifting and muggings.
Crime is fertile territory for ­Reform. Both ­Conservative and Labour administrations have failed to concentrate sufficiently on combating crime, ignoring the public's deep disquiet about the issue. The problem is Mr Farage's persistent failure to equip rhetoric with costings. His plans to recruit 30,000 more police officers, send prisoners overseas and construct five new prisons are as yet unfunded but likely to cost some £17.4 billion. Mr Farage says Britain cannot afford not to act. Many will agree, but he needs to submit the invoice.