Farage Says There's Been No National Debate On Legal Immigration Before. Here's Why He's Wrong

<div><img src="https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/68d12f9c180000dfd85cfcf9.jpeg?ops=scalefit_630_noupscale" alt="Nigel Farage has insisted the UK has not really spoken about legal immigration before." data-caption="Nigel Farage has insisted the UK has not really spoken about legal immigration before." data-credit-link-back="" data-credit="via Associated Press" />Nigel Farage has insisted the UK has not really spoken about legal immigration before.</div><div class="content-list-component text"><p><a href="news/nigel-farage" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nigel Farage</a> has insisted that now is the time to talk about the real impact of legal immigration, because there’s been no national debate on the topic before.</p><p>While launching <a href="news/reform-uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reform UK’s </a>new plan to scrap indefinite leave to remain for new migrants if they ever get elected, the party leader said: “There has not been a proper debate on legal immigration because all the so-called main political parties have agreed – both <a href="news/labour" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Labour</a> and <a href="news/conservatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Conservative</a> governments have been happy to have open-door migration.”</p><p>He pitched Reform as the only party willing to look into the sticky topic.</p><p>But debates over migration – both “illegal” and legal – have been raging in the UK for years.</p><p>Even though the UK has only been a country of net immigration since 1994, <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/united-kingdom-shift-immigration-interrupted-brexit-pandemic?gad_source=1