Overview
- Reform UK frames the pledge as a campaign commitment to impose no-parole whole-life orders for those convicted of raping children under 16, limited to offenders who were 18 or older at the time.
- The party estimates about 500 additional inmates annually and proposes creating space by deporting foreign national offenders and building facilities on MoD land, including 12,400 new places.
- Leaders say they would consult on applying the tougher sentences to historical offences, though courts typically sentence under the law in force when crimes occurred.
- The announcement cites what it calls lenient outcomes in grooming-gang cases, including Keighley convictions that drew criticism and were not all referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General.
- The sentencing vow is part of a wider law-and-order platform featuring plans for more police, Tasers for frontline officers, reopened stations, and advice from former detective Colin Sutton.