Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK and MP for Clacton, has said that immigration should be stopped immediately because, in his view, it has damaged British culture and broken apart communities.
He made these comments during a VE Day lunch where he told the *Daily Express* that many of the millions of people who have moved to the UK in the last 20 years don’t share the same values as the British people. According to him, this change has made the country feel less united and less British over time.
So far this year, over 11,500 people have crossed the English Channel to enter the UK. Mr Farage pointed out that in the last two decades, the population has increased by 10 million people, which he believes has lowered the overall quality of life, weakened cultural identity, and damaged people’s sense of pride and belief in their country. He said it’s not just about helping big companies find workers — it’s about protecting the values and way of life that have shaped Britain.
Farage also said that many of the newcomers do not share important values like duty, respect for family, strong communities, and love for the country. He mentioned that World War II veterans often connect with him politically because they feel he stands for those traditional values, which they fear are disappearing.
This debate comes just after it was revealed that housing asylum seekers in hotels and other accommodations will cost the UK government around £15.3 billion over the next ten years. That’s roughly £4.2 million every single day, a number that is nearly three times higher than what the Home Office originally estimated. They had predicted a cost of £4.5 billion between 2019 and 2029, but the number has sharply increased.
The National Audit Office also reported that the number of people living in government-funded asylum housing has grown by 134% in just five years, going from 47,000 in December 2019 to 110,000 by 2024. Farage believes this rising cost, along with the pressure on British culture, shows that immigration must be strictly controlled, and that British values must be brought back and protected.
