The Reform leader has set out his plans for the first 100 days in power (Image: Getty)

Highest on the agenda for Reform will be an issue which Labour and the Conservatives have both failed to solve for the past decade – illegal migrant small boat crossings in the English Channel. Reform have said they would use the Royal Navy to stop the dinghies, and Mr Farage will claim his party would halt the crossings within 100 days of taking the keys to No10.

Migrants packed on a boat crossing the Channel heading for Britain (Image: Getty)

A raft of cost-cutting measures will also see Reform say they can slash energy bills by £250 a year for an average household by scrapping Net Zero levies and green policies.

The expected statement of intent from Mr Farage, 62, will come as he addresses the Reform UK conference today (Friday).

Nigel Farage will be addressing the Reform UK conference in Birmingham (Image: Getty)

He will say: “Britain is in serious trouble. We don’t have time to wait around to fix it.”

Mr Farage is expected to announce that any frontbenchers who fail to deliver on their pledges “will be sacked”.

Meanwhile, party deputy leader Richard Tice is expected to promise to cut environmental levies from energy bills when he makes his own address to the conference on Friday.

By cutting taxes on gas generators, permanently removing VAT from energy bills and scrapping policies including the renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and the warm homes discount, he will promise to reduce household energy bills by £250.

Nigel Farage’s Plan to Stop Small Boats Within 100 Days of Reform UK in No10

Nigel Farage has placed the small-boats crisis at the centre of Reform UK’s plans for government, promising that a future administration led by him would take dramatic action within its first 100 days in Downing Street.

The pledge is one of the clearest examples of how Reform UK intends to distinguish itself from Britain’s traditional political parties. Rather than treating Channel crossings primarily as an immigration-management problem, Farage and his party have presented the issue as a matter of border security and national sovereignty.

Reform UK says that, if it forms a government, it would deploy the Royal Navy in the English Channel and seek to prevent unauthorised vessels from reaching British shores. The party has described this policy as “Operation Fortress” and has made stopping the boats one of its principal first-100-day commitments.

The proposal has attracted significant political attention because of the scale of the measures involved and because questions remain about how such a policy would operate in practice.

The 100-Day Promise

The central promise is straightforward.

Reform UK says that within 100 days of taking office it would put the Royal Navy into the Channel to stop small boats from reaching Britain. The party’s official policy document states that its objective would be to ensure that no illegal migrant crossing the Channel reaches British shores.

The commitment was reinforced at Reform UK’s 2026 conference in Birmingham.

Zia Yusuf, the party’s shadow home secretary, described a scenario in which a future Prime Minister Farage would instruct the First Sea Lord to prevent unauthorised vessels from reaching the United Kingdom.

The party has also said that people attempting to cross the Channel illegally would be detained and returned to France.

That would represent a substantial change from the current system, in which Border Force and other authorities respond to boats arriving or being intercepted in the Channel.

Operation Fortress

The proposed policy has been given the name Operation Fortress.

According to Reform UK’s published policy material, the plan would involve the Armed Forces taking a direct role in securing Britain’s maritime borders. The party argues that the Royal Navy has the capabilities required to operate in the Channel and that stronger action is necessary to disrupt the business model of people-smuggling gangs.

The political logic behind the proposal is that smugglers depend on the expectation that people who successfully launch from France will eventually reach Britain.

If that expectation changed, Reform argues, the incentive to pay smugglers could be reduced.

This is a central part of the party’s argument. However, changing the incentives of organised smuggling networks would depend on whether the policy could be implemented consistently and whether people attempting to cross believed that they would actually be returned.

The French Connection

The plan also depends heavily on Britain’s relationship with France.

In September 2026, Farage and Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally, signed a memorandum of understanding concerning illegal migration. Reform UK said the agreement would involve a future French government accepting the return of people who launched from French shores, entered British territorial waters and were intercepted by British forces.

This is politically significant because France is the main departure point for many small boats attempting to cross the Channel.

However, the agreement does not by itself establish that a future French government would be legally or politically able to implement every element of the proposed arrangement.

Bardella’s National Rally would first need to win government in France, and the practical operation of any return arrangement would depend on negotiations between the two countries.

The French government in office at the time a Reform UK government might take power would also be an important factor.

Why the Royal Navy?

Farage’s proposal goes beyond increasing Border Force resources.

The Royal Navy is Britain’s principal naval force, and deploying it in a domestic border-security operation would represent a significant change in how the government approaches Channel crossings.

Reform UK argues that the military has the capacity and authority to protect Britain’s territorial waters.

The Guardian has examined the proposal and reported questions about its feasibility, including the practical difficulties of intercepting small, unstable inflatable boats safely in busy Channel waters.

This is an important consideration.

The Channel is one of the world’s busiest shipping areas. Large commercial vessels operate alongside fishing boats, ferries and smaller craft. A policy involving military interception would therefore need to consider maritime safety as well as immigration enforcement.

There is also a humanitarian dimension because many small boats are overcrowded and sometimes unseaworthy.

What Happens to People on the Boats?

Another major question concerns what would happen after an interception.

Reform UK’s proposal is that people attempting to reach Britain illegally would be detained and returned to France.

That raises legal and operational questions.

Any government implementing such a policy would need to establish the legal basis for interception, detention and return. It would also need arrangements covering people who claim asylum or other forms of protection.

International refugee and human-rights obligations would therefore be relevant to the implementation of the policy.

This does not necessarily mean that Reform UK’s proposal could not be implemented. It means that the details would matter enormously.

A political pledge can be expressed in a single sentence, but putting it into operation requires legislation, agreements, personnel and procedures.

The Wider Immigration Plan

Stopping small boats is only one part of Reform UK’s broader immigration programme.

The party has also promised what it describes as a large-scale operation to remove people who entered the country illegally.

Its published policies include “Operation Restoring Justice”, which proposes detaining and deporting illegal migrants in the United Kingdom.

Reform has connected these policies to a wider argument that Britain’s immigration system needs fundamental reform.

The party says that stronger border enforcement should be accompanied by changes to asylum policy, deportation procedures and the treatment of foreign offenders.

The scale of the proposed programme would make implementation a substantial administrative undertaking.

The First 100 Days

Reform UK’s emphasis on the first 100 days is itself an important part of the party’s political strategy.

The party has promised that its ministers would deliver meaningful changes within that period and has said ministers who fail to deliver their pledges should resign or be dismissed.

The idea is designed to create a sense of urgency.

Farage has argued that Britain cannot afford to wait years for reform.

At the party’s September conference, he said a Reform government would declare a national emergency and seek to accelerate Parliament’s consideration of its legislation. Reports from the conference also described proposals to reduce parliamentary delays and increase pressure on institutions that might obstruct the government’s programme.

This approach would represent a very forceful opening to a Reform administration.

Could the Boats Actually Be Stopped?

This is perhaps the biggest practical question.

The political promise is absolute: Reform UK says the boats would be stopped within the first 100 days.

The practical reality is more complicated.

Small boats are operated by organised smuggling networks, which can adapt their methods when enforcement changes. Routes, departure times, vessel types and tactics can all change.

The Channel is also a difficult maritime environment.

A government attempting to prevent every unauthorised crossing would need constant surveillance, rapid interception capability and sufficient vessels and personnel.

Even if crossings fell dramatically, determining whether the policy had completely stopped them would require reliable data over time.

The Guardian’s analysis has highlighted questions about whether naval intervention could safely and effectively achieve the objective described by Reform UK.

These questions do not settle the issue, but they demonstrate why the policy would involve more than simply sending warships into the Channel.

Political Stakes for Farage

The promise is particularly important for Farage because immigration has been central to his political career.

Reform UK has made border control one of the party’s defining issues.

If the party eventually entered government, voters would be able to compare its promises with its actual results.

That would make the first 100 days especially important.

A substantial reduction in crossings could strengthen the government’s argument that its approach is working. If crossings continued despite the measures, the government would face questions about why the policy had not produced the promised result.

The same would apply to the wider immigration programme.

A Major Test of Government

Farage’s 100-day plan is therefore much more than a campaign slogan.

It represents a proposed transformation in the way Britain manages its Channel border.

The plan includes military involvement, cooperation with France, interception of small boats, detention and returns, as well as broader immigration reforms.

At the same time, the proposal raises serious practical questions about maritime safety, international law, French cooperation and the capacity of the British state to process large numbers of people.

Those questions would need to be addressed by any government attempting to implement the policy.

For now, the most important fact is that Reform UK has made a clear and measurable commitment.

The party says a future government led by Nigel Farage would deploy the Royal Navy in the Channel and stop the boats within its first 100 days.

Whether that target could be achieved would depend on circumstances that cannot be known in advance, including the behaviour of smuggling networks, cooperation from France, legal challenges and the operational effectiveness of the proposed measures.

The pledge nevertheless provides a clear indication of the direction Reform UK intends to take.

If Farage ever enters Downing Street, the small-boats issue would almost certainly become one of the first major tests of his government.

The promise is ambitious, the proposed measures are substantial and the consequences would extend far beyond the Channel.

The first 100 days would therefore become a crucial period in determining whether Reform UK’s approach to Britain’s border could move from a political commitment into an operational reality.