We’ll block visas for countries that demand slavery reparations — UK’s Reform party
Reform UK has announced that it would stop issuing visas to countries that demand slavery reparations from Britain.
Seventeen nations have demanded billions of pounds to compensate for Britain’s historical role in the transatlantic slave trade.
Over the past two decades, Britain has issued 3.8 million visas to nationals of these countries and provided them with £6.6bn in foreign aid.
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s home affairs spokesman, said the UK had made “huge sacrifices” to end the slave trade, and described calls for British taxpayers to pay compensation as “insulting”.
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Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out paying reparations, saying last year that he wanted to focus on the future rather than “spend a lot of time on the past”.
However, Mr Yusuf said Reform, which has already pledged to scrap foreign aid for countries demanding reparations, would go further.
He said: “A growing number of countries are demanding reparations from Britain. These countries ignore the fact that Britain made huge sacrifices to be the first major power to outlaw slavery and enforce this prohibition.
“Astonishingly, of the countries demanding reparations, Tory and Labour governments issued 3.8 million visas to their nationals and sent them a staggering £6.6bn in foreign aid over the last two decades. Enough is enough.”
Mr Yusuf has described calls for the British taxpayer to pay compensation to countries affected by slavery as ‘insulting’ Credit: Jeff Overs/BBC
Millions were enslaved in the British Empire following the creation of colonies in the Caribbean and the east coast of North America in the 17th century.
Following a massive public campaign led by William Wilberforce, Parliament abolished the buying and selling of slaves within the Empire in 1807, and in 1833 outlawed slavery entirely. The Royal Navy enforced the ban across the globe, seizing hundreds of ships.
A report published in 2023 by the University of West Indies, backed by Patrick Robinson, a judge who sat on the International Court of Justice, concluded that the UK owed more than £18tn in reparations for its role in slavery in 14 Caribbean countries – a sum almost seven times the size of the British economy.
So far, 11 countries in the Caribbean have demanded reparations from Britain – Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Caricom, the intergovernmental organisation of Caribbean states, has also made demands.
They have been joined by the African countries of Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, along with Belize in Central America and Guyana and Suriname in South America. Montserrat, a British dependency in the Caribbean, has also lobbied for reparations.
Under Reform’s proposed crackdown, nationals from these countries would be blocked from obtaining work or study visas to come to the UK. The ban would also include visas for temporary visitors and visas for those who come to stay with a family member.
Out of the 17 countries listed, the country to have been granted the most visas since 2005 is Nigeria, with 2.7 million. The next most have gone to Ghana and Kenya. In the Caribbean, the highest number of visas have been granted to Jamaica (162,290) and Trinidad and Tobago (24,305).
Most of the nations are members of the Commonwealth, with the secretary general, Ghana’s Shirley Botchwey, also speaking out in support.
Several nations used the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in 2024 to lobby the King to support their demands as the institution’s head.
The King has described the slave trade as one of the most “painful aspects of our past” but has not issued a formal apology, despite being lobbied by Commonwealth leaders.
He is unable to do so without the support of the Government and, similarly, cannot pledge reparations.
Last month, the United Nations General Assembly voted to declare the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” and urged countries to consider an apology or to contribute to a reparations fund.
The resolution, proposed by Ghana, urged countries to consider apologising for the slave trade and to contribute to a reparations fund. The proposal was adopted with 123 votes in favour and three (the US, Israel and Argentina) against. The UK was among 52 countries that abstained.
Rachel Reeves has said the UK cannot afford to pay the huge sums demanded. Speaking to the BBC, she said: “I understand why they make those demands but that’s not something that this Government will be doing.”
However, Labour’s position is at odds with others on the Left. Members of the party’s Socialist Campaign Group have pushed for the UK to pay reparations. The Greens are also in favour.
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, has described arguments for reparations as a “scam”.
A Reform spokesman said: “A Reform government will not allow Britain to be slapped around and ridiculed on the world stage like the Tories and Labour. We will not allow British taxpayers to be insulted and their money wasted.”
Reform will end the reparations racket for good
By Zia Yusuf
For too long, the British people have watched with bewilderment and justifiable anger as our political class allows this country to be treated like a global doormat.
We are told to hang our heads in shame, to apologise for our past, and – most outrageously – to open our wallets to pay “reparations” for supposed sins committed centuries ago.
The era of British self-flagellation ends here. Today, Reform UK is drawing a line in the sand. We are putting the world on notice – the United Kingdom is not an ATM for ethnic grievances of the past, and we will no longer tolerate being ridiculed on the world stage.
The narrative being pushed by a growing number of nations is a moral inversion. They demand trillions in compensation while ignoring the fact that Britain was the first major power to abolish the slave trade.
We didn’t just pass a law and walk away; we took on the mantle of the world’s policeman at a staggering cost to our own people.
In 1808, His Majesty’s Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron. For decades, British sailors patrolled the high seas, risking their lives in the stifling heat and face-to-face with the most brutal traffickers in history to enforce the ban.
Thousands of British sailors died in the line of duty. They seized over 1,600 slave ships and liberated 150,000 captive souls.
To achieve this, Britain spent the modern equivalent of billions of pounds – a huge proportion of our national wealth at the time – to uphold the ban and compensate for the economic shift. It was a sacrifice of blood and treasure unparalleled in human history, driven by a uniquely British moral conviction.
Yet, instead of gratitude for leading the world out of that dark chapter, we are met with demands for more cash. The hypocrisy of the current situation is staggering. While countries like Jamaica, Nigeria and Ghana ramp up their demands for reparations, the Westminster establishment has rewarded them.
Over the last two decades, Tory and Labour governments have issued 3.8 million visas to nationals of these very countries. In that same period, long-suffering British taxpayers have sent them a staggering £6.6bn in foreign aid. We have provided safety, opportunity, and direct financial support, only to be insulted and told we owe more.
Enough is enough.
The British taxpayer is being slapped around by foreign governments, while our own leaders nod along in quiet shame. A Reform government, with Nigel Farage as Prime Minister, will show the backbone that has been missing from Downing Street.
Our policy is simple, clear, and firm: The Reparations Lock. From this point forward, should any country formally demand reparations from the United Kingdom, a Reform government will respond immediately. We will halt the issuance of all new visas to its nationals.
If you believe our history makes us a pariah state, then you should have no desire to send your citizens here.
Furthermore, we have already committed to scrapping the wasteful foreign aid budget. Why should we send billions abroad to countries that spend their time lobbying for the managed decline of our own economy? That money belongs at home, to fix our NHS, to secure our borders, and to support our own people suffering under a cost of living crisis.
The days of the “guilt-trip tax” are over. We are a great nation with a history that changed the world for the better. We stood alone against tyranny in 1940, and we led the world in the abolition of slavery in the 1800s. We will not allow our children to be taught that they are the heirs to nothing but shame.
A United Kingdom led by Reform UK will stand up for its national interest. We will protect our borders, we will protect our purse, and above all, we will protect our pride.
To those who seek to use history as a weapon to drain our treasury – the bank is closed, and the door is locked. It is time to put Britain first.
Zia Yusuf is the Reform UK home affairs spokesman
Source: Telegraph.co.uk