I find it hard to believe it has now been two years since I entered politics. Two years since I left behind the world of business. Two years since I looked around at my country and decided enough was enough.
Just look at what we have achieved together. When I entered the political arena, I made it my goal to make Nigel Farage our Prime Minister.
Do you remember the reaction back then? We were met with sneers, jeers and condescending laughs by the chattering classes, the mainstream commentators and the Westminster establishment.
Today, thanks to your courage and your unrelenting dedication, it is no longer a fantasy. Thanks to you, it is within our grasp. But make no mistake: we gather today at a moment of grave peril for the country we love.
Over 200,000 people have landed on our beaches illegally in ever-bigger boats. Over 200,000 unvetted people have broken into our homeland without permission. That’s more people than stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
Most are military-aged men arriving from cultures that actively hate Britain and despise Western civilisation. We know some have been convicted of brutal crimes. We know some have come to commit terrorist attacks on our soil.
We now live in a broken country. A country whose ruling class systematically prioritises the human rights of foreign nationals, and indeed depraved foreign criminals, over the safety and rights of its own citizens. That is how we have ended up in an absurd reality where entire communities like Piddington are sacrificed overnight.
Yet instead of repelling this invading force, Tory and Labour ministers chose to accommodate them. They put them up in luxury hotels at your expense. They give them three hot meals a day, priority healthcare and taxpayer-funded cinema trips, while ordinary British families struggle to pay their heating bills.
Well, I promise you this: all of this changes under a Reform government.
Now, the theme of this conference is Reform’s first 100 days. But I want to talk a little bit about the first day. I look forward to the day when Prime Minister Nigel Farage walks through the black door of Number 10 Downing Street.
He will place his briefcase down on the desk. He will pick up the phone to the First Sea Lord and deliver an order. He will order His Majesty’s Royal Navy to see to it that not a single unauthorised vessel makes it to the shores of the United Kingdom.
Under a Reform government, these invaders will no longer be placed into British communities near primary schools. No. Under a Reform government, they will be placed under arrest by His Majesty’s Royal Marines.
When those smuggler boats cross into that twelve-mile territorial line in the English Channel, the occupants will no longer look up to see a Border Force ferry service waiting to chauffeur them to a life of state-funded leisure. No. Under Reform, they will look up and see HMS Dauntless waiting for them at maximum readiness.
And every single person attempting to reach our shores illegally will be detained and returned to the shores from which they came. Britain’s borders will mean something again!
There are already well over a million illegal migrants living inside our country today. Many are responsible for terrible crimes against our people, leaving women and girls fearful to walk the streets at night. The Tories imported ten million migrants over fourteen years of catastrophic failure, and the majority possess no skills, do not contribute to our economy, and never will. The Tory-Labour uniparty turned Britain into a food bank for the world, while British pensioners freeze and British patients wait years for healthcare.
Yes, we are rightly furious with what the establishment has done. But we are also hugely optimistic about what our country can become. Together, we will win. Our first mission is clear: defeat the uniparty and elect Nigel Farage as Prime Minister.
Now, we know that the establishment will throw every lie, smear and dirty trick at us, but we will prevail.
Once elected, a Reform government will deliver more transformative change in our first 100 days than any administration in British history. We will deploy the Royal Navy to stop the boats and return anyone attempting to cross back to France. We will go from having open borders to the most secure borders on earth. We will launch the largest mass deportation operation in modern history, removing every single foreign national who entered this country illegally.
We will immediately end the early release of violent criminals, rapidly expand our prison capacity, and deport all 10,000 foreign criminals currently burdening our prisons. If their home countries refuse them, we will send them to serve their sentences in countries like El Salvador. Reformers, we will rebuild our economy, rearm our military and ensure Britain can defend its interests in an era of hard power.
And so, we are now at a crossroads. The fate of this magnificent nation, for which millions have laid down their lives, is now down to us. We can either summon every ounce of dedication, courage and resolve to defeat the failed political establishment, or we can watch our country fall into terminal decline.
I know which path I choose. Will you stand with me? Will you stand with Nigel?
It is time for us to go forward together. It is time for Reform.
This is an extract from a speech by Zia Yusuf at Reform UK’s conference, The First 100 Days, on 4th September.
Watch the conference livestream here.
Just look at what we have achieved together. When I entered the political arena, I made it my goal to make Nigel Farage our Prime Minister.
Do you remember the reaction back then? We were met with sneers, jeers and condescending laughs by the chattering classes, the mainstream commentators and the Westminster establishment.
Today, thanks to your courage and your unrelenting dedication, it is no longer a fantasy. Thanks to you, it is within our grasp. But make no mistake: we gather today at a moment of grave peril for the country we love.
Over 200,000 people have landed on our beaches illegally in ever-bigger boats. Over 200,000 unvetted people have broken into our homeland without permission. That’s more people than stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.
Most are military-aged men arriving from cultures that actively hate Britain and despise Western civilisation. We know some have been convicted of brutal crimes. We know some have come to commit terrorist attacks on our soil.
We now live in a broken country. A country whose ruling class systematically prioritises the human rights of foreign nationals, and indeed depraved foreign criminals, over the safety and rights of its own citizens. That is how we have ended up in an absurd reality where entire communities like Piddington are sacrificed overnight.
Yet instead of repelling this invading force, Tory and Labour ministers chose to accommodate them. They put them up in luxury hotels at your expense. They give them three hot meals a day, priority healthcare and taxpayer-funded cinema trips, while ordinary British families struggle to pay their heating bills.
Well, I promise you this: all of this changes under a Reform government.
Now, the theme of this conference is Reform’s first 100 days. But I want to talk a little bit about the first day. I look forward to the day when Prime Minister Nigel Farage walks through the black door of Number 10 Downing Street.
He will place his briefcase down on the desk. He will pick up the phone to the First Sea Lord and deliver an order. He will order His Majesty’s Royal Navy to see to it that not a single unauthorised vessel makes it to the shores of the United Kingdom.
Under a Reform government, these invaders will no longer be placed into British communities near primary schools. No. Under a Reform government, they will be placed under arrest by His Majesty’s Royal Marines.
When those smuggler boats cross into that twelve-mile territorial line in the English Channel, the occupants will no longer look up to see a Border Force ferry service waiting to chauffeur them to a life of state-funded leisure. No. Under Reform, they will look up and see HMS Dauntless waiting for them at maximum readiness.
And every single person attempting to reach our shores illegally will be detained and returned to the shores from which they came. Britain’s borders will mean something again!
There are already well over a million illegal migrants living inside our country today. Many are responsible for terrible crimes against our people, leaving women and girls fearful to walk the streets at night. The Tories imported ten million migrants over fourteen years of catastrophic failure, and the majority possess no skills, do not contribute to our economy, and never will. The Tory-Labour uniparty turned Britain into a food bank for the world, while British pensioners freeze and British patients wait years for healthcare.
Yes, we are rightly furious with what the establishment has done. But we are also hugely optimistic about what our country can become. Together, we will win. Our first mission is clear: defeat the uniparty and elect Nigel Farage as Prime Minister.
Now, we know that the establishment will throw every lie, smear and dirty trick at us, but we will prevail.
Once elected, a Reform government will deliver more transformative change in our first 100 days than any administration in British history. We will deploy the Royal Navy to stop the boats and return anyone attempting to cross back to France. We will go from having open borders to the most secure borders on earth. We will launch the largest mass deportation operation in modern history, removing every single foreign national who entered this country illegally.
We will immediately end the early release of violent criminals, rapidly expand our prison capacity, and deport all 10,000 foreign criminals currently burdening our prisons. If their home countries refuse them, we will send them to serve their sentences in countries like El Salvador. Reformers, we will rebuild our economy, rearm our military and ensure Britain can defend its interests in an era of hard power.
And so, we are now at a crossroads. The fate of this magnificent nation, for which millions have laid down their lives, is now down to us. We can either summon every ounce of dedication, courage and resolve to defeat the failed political establishment, or we can watch our country fall into terminal decline.
I know which path I choose. Will you stand with me? Will you stand with Nigel?
It is time for us to go forward together. It is time for Reform.
This is an extract from a speech by Zia Yusuf at Reform UK’s conference, The First 100 Days, on 4th September.
Watch the conference livestream here.
