Reform UK unveiled plans for “the largest military operation” in the Channel “since World War II” to stop migrants crossing on small boats, if it wins power.

The proposal to use the Royal Navy to counter migration comes days after thousands of people entered Spain’s North African exclave of Ceuta from Morocco, sparking discussions in multiple European countries. Over the past seven months, 14,281 illegal migrants have arrived in the UK on small boats.

“Reform UK will respond by launching the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two,” Zia Yusuf, Reform Party’s home affairs spokesman, who visited Ceuta over the weekend, said ahead of the plan being published on Monday.

“Nigel Farage will order his Majesty’s Royal Navy to ensure that not a single unauthorized vessel crossing the English Channel makes it to the shores of the United Kingdom. Those who attempt it will be intercepted by our Armed Forces and returned to France,” he added.

Reform UK had led UK polls for about 18 months, but their lead disappeared in recent weeks because of a series of scandals. Its intention to deploy Britain’s navy to return the vessels to France was a policy the Conservative Party proposed in 2020 but eventually abandoned it. At the time, the opposition and defense experts argued the plans were unworkable and the UK did not have the right military resources to implement them. But Yusuf argued that if the French objected to the move, Britain would reassess the $897 million three-year deal London signed with Paris in April to stop illegal migration.

The proposal underscores how irregular migration is increasingly being reframed as a national security and sovereignty issue rather than solely a humanitarian or law enforcement challenge. From a geopolitical perspective, Reform UK’s pledge signals a willingness to militarize border enforcement in one of Europe’s most strategically sensitive maritime corridors, with potential implications for UK-France relations and broader European migration governance. Any attempt to use the Royal Navy to return migrant vessels would likely test existing bilateral agreements, international maritime law, and NATO’s political cohesion, while increasing pressure on Paris to demonstrate stronger border controls. The proposal reflects a wider European trend toward securitized migration policies, suggesting that border management is becoming an increasingly prominent instrument of interstate leverage. (EIR)