REFORM’S plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain would destroy the NHS and rip families apart, unions and campaigners warned today.

Party leader Nigel Farage insisted the move would save billions despite a think tank that he cited the figures from saying they were inaccurate.

He vowed to axe the right of migrants to apply for indefinite leave to remain, ban non-citizens from claiming benefits and force migrants applying for citizenship to renounce other citizenship — insisting this would save “considerably” more than the £230 billion suggested by the Centre for Policy Studies.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the figures show Reform’s plans “have no basis in reality”  as the Tories distanced themselves from the “half-baked and unworkable” proposals.

Unions representing sectors that rely heavily on migrants to plug workforce shortages, meanwhile, blasted the “cruel” and “repugnant” plans.

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “These cruel proposals from Reform UK will cause chaos, leave the economy reeling and tear apart communities. 

“The effect on the NHS and social care workforce would be no less than catastrophic, with thousands of essential, dedicated staff being shown the door. It’ll be impossible to maintain vital public services.

“Scapegoating migrants and spreading anxiety won’t solve any of the country’s deep-seated problems. It will simply make them worse.”

GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said: “Apart from being morally repugnant, this half-baked policy is also completely unworkable.

“Our public services — especially the NHS — and our care sector are utterly reliant on migrant workers.

“Without them our care and health sectors would collapse.

“This is yet more performative politics from a bunch of millionaires and their pals who do not live in the real world.”

Royal College of Nursing general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger said: “Threatening to sack thousands of migrant nursing staff is abhorrent beyond words.

“These are people who have come to the UK to care for patients and become part of our communities. They deserve so much better than this.

“The policy of retrospectively removing people’s rights in this way would be unprecedented, leaving migrant nursing staff unable to work or access welfare, despite having paid tax.

“It shows neither compassion nor an understanding of the fundamental role our brilliant migrant nursing staff play in health and care. Without them, services would simply cease to function.”

She said the union is “deeply concerned by the increasingly hostile rhetoric shown towards migrants,” adding: “We urge all political parties to end this race to the bottom and instead acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of those who come to the UK from overseas.”

It comes after TUC conference delegates last month blasted Labour's “racist” immigration plans announced in a white paper in May when Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer infamously claimed that Britain was becoming an “island of strangers.”

The plans will end overseas recruitment to the NHS and social care for any role below graduate level, double the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain work visas and reshape and limit immigration for purposes of employment.

A unanimously backed motion by Unison, which represents care workers, opposed any moves to retrospectively extend the qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain from five to 10 years, warning: “This would breach trust and leave workers trapped in exploitation for another five years, rendering them second-class citizens in the UK for longer.”

Today, Keep Our NHS Public co-chair Tony O’Sullivan told the Morning Star: “By threatening to withdraw existing indefinite leave to remain and access to NHS care, he endangers hundreds of thousands of health and care workers and their families. 

“We know our debt to migrant workers in the NHS and care sectors and beyond, who incidentally pay their taxes towards the public services they support. 

“They committed themselves and their lives to us during Covid and very few meet the punitive salary threshold Farage threatens. We urgently need Labour to reject the dangerous hostile environment policies and confront these dog-whistle politics.”

A United Voices of the World union spokesperson said: “Let’s be real. 7 million migrant workers now make up 21% of the UK workforce. In the NHS, 20% of staff are non-British. In London, 40% of the workforce are migrant workers.

“The truth is simple: without migrant workers, our services would collapse. They keep our hospitals, care homes, schools, public services, and transport running. They keep patients fed, streets clean, and communities safe.

“Migrant workers are not a “burden” — they are essential. They contribute billions to the UK economy through taxes and spending.

“Farage’s plan isn’t just cruel, racist, ridiculous & unrealistic, it’s a threat to the very fabric of the country.”

Reform estimated that about 800,000 people will be eligible for indefinite leave to remain in the next few years.

Government sources have said there are 777,000 foreign universal credit claimants with this status.