Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has proposed sending all foreign prisoners to serve their sentences abroad. The plan aims to end Labour's early release scheme for prisoners. This would free up space in UK prisons.
“All” was the word the winning side kept trying to soften. Voters here backed the proposal decisively, but the arguments that earned the most respect treated it less as a universal rule than as a response to prison overcrowding, deportation and cost.
The floor’s most-respected Yes case was not a blank cheque: “I voted yes, but that's a generalisation. It's not as black and white as that.” Another supporter favoured “offshore prisons in third countries” to “free up prison spaces”, while a harder voice argued for people to be “automatically deported at their own cost”.
No voters framed the issue around punishment and practical enforcement rather than capacity. The strongest-respected No argument said foreign nationals “broke the law in the UK and should be punished in the UK”; another cut to the problem with three words, “Where abroad?”, while the reply was that “Letting them abroad sees them walking free”.
The two sides were often answering different questions: Yes asked who should pay for crowded prisons and why foreign offenders should remain in the country, while No asked whether a sentence still means anything if another state will not accept it or does not punish the crime similarly. Beneath that was a harsher suspicion from one Yes reply: deportation may be “just a way of getting rid of folk they don't want”.
The vote delivered a clear mandate for removal, but the room’s own debate left the word “all” looking like the least settled part of the policy.
“Whilst the obvious answer is YES, I'll ask one question that I can immediately see will cause a problem If you or one of your family suffer a serious crime against them, that requires a prison sentence Will you be happy if you see them charged & instead of going to prison, deported & then possibly released straight away, possibly because that country doesn't consider the crime to be as Britain d”
YES case · JustFactsNotBeliefs · 2 respects
“No, they broke the law in the UK and should be punished in the UK. Then deported and banned from country. If we are facing shortage of prison space, allow more private ones, create temporary for less dangerous criminals. Meantime build more. And we need to remember prison should be prison not health resort where criminals can rest, do some gym and play console games.”
NO case · Slawomir · 1 respect
Does the UK need mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders of any crime?
Justice · 977 votes · 78% voted Yes
Should burning the Union Flag be prosecuted as sedition?
Justice · 964 votes · 57% voted No
Should the UK's 43 police forces be merged into larger regional forces?
Justice · 900 votes · 60% voted No
Will recent changes to the Solicitors Qualifying Exam result in a decline in professional standards?
Justice · 754 votes · 75% voted Yes
Should the UK register of sex offenders be made public to all households?
Justice · 793 votes · 50% voted Yes
Should terrorist offences be treated simply as ordinary crimes?
Justice · 790 votes · 90% voted No
Should the national inquiry into grooming gangs be widened?
Justice · 749 votes · 84% voted Yes
Should judges face formal disciplinary action for repeated disregard of statute or binding precedent?
Justice · 738 votes · 87% voted Yes
10 Opinions
I voted yes, but that's a generalisation. It's not as black and white as that. It still needs to be assessed on an individual basis but it would free up prison spaces. I would vote yes to offshore prisons in third countries, if it reduces the cost burden on tax payers. Most should be deported to their native country on completion of their sentence, especially those guilty of serious crimes. Those who don't respect the rights of others shouldn't expect theirs to be respected.
Where abroad? A British dependency? What if they don't have a passport? What if their country won't take them? I would rather just deport them if possible, than insist they serve a long sentence at either UK cost or foreign govt cost.
Yes. I think I’m right in assuming that most did not just become criminals after they arrived in the UK and there are stories of many being deported from country to country on their way to the UK due to their activities. Free up some prison space, let them be cared for by their own … eh 🫣
The law they are charged under is UK law Letting them abroad sees them walking free
No, they broke the law in the UK and should be punished in the UK. Then deported and banned from country. If we are facing shortage of prison space, allow more private ones, create temporary for less dangerous criminals. Meantime build more. And we need to remember prison should be prison not health resort where criminals can rest, do some gym and play console games.
Any foreign national including duel passport holders should be automatically deported at their own cost. We have the technology to make our borders 100% safe. We are an island with a diminished Navy and airforce. The Border Force is way too unionised it needs much more military influence from the MoD police and the military police.
Whilst the obvious answer is YES, I'll ask one question that I can immediately see will cause a problem If you or one of your family suffer a serious crime against them, that requires a prison sentence Will you be happy if you see them charged & instead of going to prison, deported & then possibly released straight away, possibly because that country doesn't consider the crime to be as Britain does (eg some countries don't jail a husband beating his wife a crime like we do)
Not only to serve sentences but to remain barred from UK. We have enough criminals without letting more in. And yes we should if requested take our criminals from overseas.