By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR

Published: 21:00 GMT, 2 January 2026 | Updated: 23:01 GMT, 2 January 2026

Child rapists including grooming gang members will be locked up for the rest of their lives under a Reform government.

In a tough new law and order policy, Nigel Farage’s party said it would impose mandatory whole life sentences for adults convicted of child rape if it wins the next election.

And it would ensure that those put away for the rest of their years are not eligible for parole.

Reform has estimated that 500 offenders a year would face the mandatory minimum sentences and vowed to create enough new prison places for them, including by deporting foreign criminals already behind bars.

The party said urgent action is needed because there are currently no minimum sentences for child sexual abuse or exploitation, which has led to some judges handing down ‘ludicrously light’ terms, while most are eligible for parole after serving two-thirds of their terms.

In addition, the existing process for overturning lenient sentences can take months and in some cases Attorney General Lord Hermer has refused to review jail terms given to grooming gangs.

It emerged last year that one of the grooming gang members convicted of raping a vulnerable teenage girl in the 1990s was only jailed for four and a half years.

Reform wants its tough new sentences to apply to historical offences, so that it would cover grooming gangs, even though usually criminals are sentenced according to the law at the time the offence was committed.

Child rapists would be jailed for life with no hope of release under a Reform government (stock image)

Nigel Farage pictured at a Reform UK press conference on June 23, 2025 in London

The party’s Head of Policy Zia Yusuf said: ‘For too long, Conservative and Labour governments have failed to protect our children.

‘A Reform government will introduce mandatory minimum life sentences for those who rape children. It is shameful that this is not already the law.’

He went on: ‘It is a stain on our national conscience that grooming gangs were allowed to operate for years with impunity, and in many cases still do.

‘Under Conservative governments, the average sentence for the rape of a child under 13 fell to as little as nine years. Some grooming gang child rapists have received sentences as low as six years. Under Labour, violent offenders are now being released early from prison.

‘This is a profound betrayal of victims and of the public’s trust.

‘Only a Nigel Farage government will deliver real justice for victims of child sexual abuse, and ensure that paedophiles are kept behind bars for life.’