Reform UK says it would give automatic life sentences to people who rape children if the party wins the next general election.
The party’s head of policy, Zia Yusuf, said this would include whole-life jail terms, meaning offenders would never be released from prison or allowed parole. The policy is aimed especially at tackling grooming gangs.
Reform UK also wants these mandatory life sentences to apply to historic child sexual abuse cases, so crimes committed years ago would still receive the toughest punishment.
Government data shows there were 677 convictions for child rape involving victims under 16 in 2024. This number counts convictions, not individual offenders.
At the moment, judges can already give life sentences to child rapists, but it is not automatic. Typical sentences range from six to 19 years, depending on the case and the age of the child.
Reform UK says its plans would be supported by increasing prison space. This would include building temporary “Nightingale prisons” and deporting foreign criminals.
Zia Yusuf said past Conservative and Labour governments failed to protect children. He said some offenders have received sentences as short as four years and claimed average sentences have fallen over time.
Meanwhile, a whole-life order is the harshest sentence in the UK. It is only used in the most serious cases and means the person will never be released. As of March 2025, there were 70 prisoners serving whole-life sentences.
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