Are You Scared Yet?  

Caitlin Small 

Unless you have chosen to live under a rock in the year 2026, there is a good chance you have seen the horrifying events unfolding under the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; also known as, ICE. What we thought was perhaps unimaginable has materialised, and with an unchecked source of power, what America is left with are communities living in fear, enforced by masked agents who operate with heavy-handed impunity.  

For a nation built on the notions of personal liberty and justice, it is gut-wrenching to watch the same tactics of Europe’s darkest regimes carried out before your eyes. Poorly trained agents who operate under financial incentives in a strained economy are a proven recipe for destruction.  

Was the 50k joining bonus worth the bloody hands [1]? Draped in little but a humble pair of denim jeans, a balaclava and a Glock 19, they were easily dismissed despite the harrowing echoes of 20th-Century policing.  

This public declaration of a new American order signifies a terrifying shift in approaches to democracy. We cannot hide under the blanket of the Atlantic Ocean and think, “Well, at least it isn’t happening here”.Authoritarian politics is a contagious practice, and it is now at our back door.  

Self-proclaimed neo-Nazis in Cavan [2], of all places, Holocaust deniers spouting dog whistles, racists prophesying the onslaught of the ten plagues if we do not remove all minorities. The groundwork has been laid, and the foundations are concrete.  

Now, for the most institutional evidence of such. Reform is currently predicted to have a 77% chance of becoming the largest party [3] in the United Kingdom at the next election, and with the current trend of Tories jumping ship in a last-ditch attempt to maintain relevance, that number is likely to grow. For if Suella Braverman, former Tory hard-hitter, and daughter of migrants, feels “at home” with Reform… how bad could the party really be? [4]  

Well, quite bad.  

Upon reading the Party manifesto, two things become clear.  

1 – Reform does not care about the rule of law, despite its contradictory claims.  

Their third listed policy is “deport illegal migrants”, and to achieve this, the UK shall leave the ECHR and repeal the Human Rights Act 1998, as according to Reform, it is the only way to stop the boats [5]. In lieu of this, Reform aims to pass the Illegal Migration (Mass Deportation) Bill. So, no human rights, but we can boot poor people out of our country; it’s a win-lose situation.  

Sacrifices must be made for Crown and Country, however! Rule Britannia.  

Who cares that this action would breach the Good Friday Agreement? Northern Ireland has always been accepted as collateral damage. Who would care to look a little deeper and realise that it is quite rare to use the Act to remain in the UK? 3% of criminal offenders successfully relied on the ECHR to stay in the UK from 2015 to 2021, but that number would not spark a significant reaction, so a little blurring of the lines is natural [6].  

Who cares about a little white lie? Not you. Not I.  

2 – Beyond immigration, Reform has little consideration for the future.  

The official Reform site has listed 19 policies. Of them, the first four are differing variants of anti-immigration spew. Policies eight, nine and ten take us on a wonderful tour of scrapping net zero and replacing it with common sense. Restore the good old fossil fuels and stop littering productive farmland with solar and wind farms!  

No more renewable, no, no. What we need is to use up that lovely depleting source of carcinogens for us to inhale [7]. It’s only common sense to finish the job we started.  

Fifteen and sixteen feature more hearty discussions of ending cheap, imported labour. It’s too bad that wage slavery is just so attractive. Instead of regulating the businesses that enable it, Reform wants to punish the individual so in need to feed their family that they will accept unmistakable exploitation.  

So, with that in mind, and a “100% chance of ICE forecast!” [8] according to Reformer Michael Squires, prepare for a newfound wave of freedom.  

To end, I pose a question to those who feel safe in Reform’s warm hug: what happens when the first line of attack is complete? When the poor immigrants are once and truly suppressed, who will be next? Perhaps the poor citizens. The disabled. The women. The Muslims. The Jews. The journalists. Those who do not look or sound right.  

One must remember that a party, thriving on exclusion, cannot operate without a victim. And when it inevitably is you, and you cast your hand for help, do not be surprised when no one is there to pick you up. Bootlicking won’t save you then.  

References  

[1] Jr, Bernd Debusmann. 2025. “US Offers up to $50k Bonus for Would-Be ICE Deportation Officers.” BBC News, August 1, 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqle5newg0no.  

[2] “Local Councillor Condemns Far-Right Protest in Co. Cavan | NorthernSound.” 2026. NorthernSound. 2026. https://www.northernsound.ie/news/local-councillor-condemns-far-right-protest-in-co-cavan-275833.  

[3] “General Election Prediction.” 2026. Www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. January 13, 2026. https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/prediction_main.html.  

[4] Quinn, Ben, Peter Walker, and Priya Bharadia. 2026. “Tories Criticised over Claim Braverman Defected to Reform after ‘Mental Health’ Issues.” The Guardian. The Guardian. January 26, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/26/former-home-secretary-suella-braverman-defects-to-reform-uk.  

[5] Barnard, Catherine. 2025. “Leaving the ECHR and the Refugee Convention – UK in a Changing Europe.” UK in a Changing Europe. August 27, 2025. https://ukandeu.ac.uk/leaving-the-echr-and-the-refugee-convention/.  

[6] “House of Commons Library Examines Effect of ECHR on UK Immigration Law.” 2025. Ein.org.uk. November 6, 2025. https://www.ein.org.uk/news/house-commons-library-examines-effect-echr-uk-immigration-law.  

[7] Nogueira, Leticia. 2023. “Fossil Fuels Present Considerable Cancer Risks.” Targeted Oncology. December 30, 2023. https://www.targetedonc.com/view/fossil-fuels-present-considerable-cancer-risks.  

[8] Haynes, Olly. 2026. “Reform UK’s Plans for a British ICE.” Byline Times. January 30, 2026. https://bylinetimes.com/2026/01/30/reform-uk-nigel-farage-plans-for-a-british-ice/.