Asked if multiculturalism is dead in Britain, Nigel Farage says “sadly it’s alive and well!”

“That’s why we’ve got the growth of sectarian politics, that’s why we’ve got people marching on the streets of London and the provocation against the Jewish community that took place in Southend last weekend.

“Had that been done against any other religious or racial group in this country the long arm of the law would have intervened very quickly and very heavily.

“I think what has changed is the national narrative. The narrative that multiculturalism is good… I think the realisation of what a huge error that was has been exposed.”

Nigel Farage says family GPs are too close and friendly with their patients to assess the need for benefits based on mental health problems.

He tells the presser: “I don’t think any of these allocations should be done by family GPs, they should be done independently, and I think we are massively overdiagnosing those with mental illness problems and behaviour disabilities.”

“We’re creating a class of victims in Britain who will struggle to ever get out of it, and that’s not good for them or us.”

He points to the repeated lockdowns as “probably the biggest mistakes ever made by a peacetime government in this country and have caused great long term harm.”

Nigel Farage says that since Brexit there are now “more foreign boats fishing out here on the six mile line than we’ve ever seen at any point in our previous history, and that goes right the way down to Land’s End.”

“The environmental damage to fish stocks since Brexit has been horrendous, the regulations put by the MMO and the MCA on our own fishing industry are so onerous and expensive that frankly many think the situation is worse now than it was before we left the EU.

“Any further surrender of our fishing rights will literally finish off what was once a big industry.

“It’s total and utter madness! The minimum Brexit should have given us was a 12 mile line. The maximum would of course been a 200 mile exclusive economic zone as enjoyed by Norway, the Foroe Islands, Iceland and any normal country in the world.

“I worry about that. I worry about alignment on veterinary and food standards with the EU. I worry about alignment for carbon taxes, and I worry perhaps even more than on March 19 we’re going to be talking about a form of military alignment that will include intelligence sharing to perhaps a very high level, that I think could fundamentally damage our relationship with NATO and America.

“I worry that this Prime Minister, who is after all a Remainer, I worry he’s going to take us so closely back towards alignment with the EU and maybe even free movement of people for those under 30. I worry about those things because I believe it damages our ability to do business with the rest of the world.

“The bright economic future is not the Eurozone, believe me.”

Nigel Farage has said he will work with the Trade Union movement as part of his policy to reindustrialise Britain.

Speaking at the press conference he continued to deliver friendly overtures to the unions, amid the ongoing bin strike in Birmingham.

He insists it’s not a dramatic u-turn, but a “practical way of looking at how we do this.”

Regarding Birmingham he suggested it will just be the beginning of a “very difficult summer and autumn for the Labour Party with the trade union movement.”

Nigel Farage has condemned Robert Jenrick as “Robert the Remainer” who has changed his political stripes in response to leaked audio of the top Tory suggesting he’s working on a pact between the Tories and Reform.

Farage blasted: “Robert the Remainer! Who’s been on this Damascene conversion on the road to Damascus!”

“You will see on May 2 that our biggest gains are going to be in Labour voting areas. I would also tell you that a majority of our members and voters at the last election were not voting Conservative because they loathe the Conservative Party.

“They could not put up with the level of betrayal that had happened since the 2019 80 seat majority.

“If we were to even contemplate doing a deal our voters would be revolted by it. Our party internally would be in revolt.”

Nigel Farage has conceded that the efforts to get on top of deportations will be “huge” given the scale of the problem.

“I know the problem is huge, because there are an estimated 1.2 million people here illegally.

“And going beyond the last couple of hundred thousand is not going to be an easy job. It’s going to be a hell of a battle. We know that the state will fight us at every point.”

He reiterates it is Reform’s intention, eventually, that anyone here illegally will not be able to stay.

Nigel Farage has compared the current immigration crisis to the state of things 20 years ago under Tony Blair, “who was deporting tens of thousands of people a year who were here illegally.”

“when Blunkett was Home Secretary, if you came here illegally you didn’t touch the sides. You were sent back.

“So what I’m calling for isn’t particularly anything radical – it’s just common sense.”

Reform could have a night to remember next week – and the Conservatives one they will want to forget.

Tory peer Lord Robert Hayward – a respected polling expert – suggests Reform could gain up to 450 seats, with the Tories losing up to 525.

Nigel Farage has announced he will create a new job of Minister for Deportations if he wins the next general election.

Speaking in Dover this morning, the Reform UK leader confirmed that under his premiership no one who comes to Britain legally be able to stay.

While he promised further details on his deportation policy after the local elections, he specified he would bring a “total end” to all asylum claims for those who come to Britain on travel or student visas.

He would also deport all foreign criminals.

He added: “For those who come to Britain and who are granted citizenship, that will be regarded as a legally binding contract… we welcome you in if you make those pledges to us, but you actually have to obey the law and be someone who is a positive benefit to our country.”

I’m at the Best Western Dover Marina Hotel and Spa in Dover where Nigel Farage is due to give a press conference at 11am.

The room is filling up with journalists ahead of the Reform leader’s announcement on migration.

There is a blue lectern with the slogan “Reform will fix it” and a backdrop with the words “Britain is broken”.

The party has just announced it has smashed through the 225,000 membership barrier as support continues to surge ahead of next week’s local elections

Nigel Farage makes light of suggestions that the Reform and the Tories could form an election pact after Robert Jenrick was recorded saying he wanted a ‘coalition’ of the right.

Welcome to our live blog. We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates from Nigel Farage’s press conference in Dover.

The Reform UK leader is set to talk about migration and the upcoming local elections.