Reform UK has unveiled a hardline policy to introduce mandatory whole-life jail terms for anyone convicted of raping a child, as the party targets what it calls a systemic failure to tackle grooming gangs.
Mandatory Life Terms for Heinous Crimes
The party's head of policy, Zia Yusuf, announced the plans on Saturday. Under the proposals, offenders found guilty of child rape would receive mandatory whole-life orders, meaning they would never be eligible for parole. This represents a significant toughening of current sentencing guidelines.
Yusuf stated that it was a "stain on our national conscience that grooming gangs were allowed to operate for years with impunity, and in many cases still do." He accused both Conservative and Labour governments of failing to protect children, citing that under recent Tory governments, the average sentence for raping a child under 13 fell to around nine years.
Contrast with Current Sentencing Rules
Currently, judges in England and Wales can impose life sentences for child rape at their discretion, with an offence range typically between six and 19 years for crimes against children under 13. Reform UK highlighted that some grooming gang members have received sentences as low as four years.
The party's policy is also intended to apply to historic child sexual abuse cases, ensuring "heinous historic crimes are also sentenced proportionally." Ministry of Justice data shows there were 677 convictions for the rape of children under 16 in 2024.
Funding the Policy Through Prison Reform
Reform UK says the cost of implementing longer sentences has been factored into its broader justice plans. These include freeing up prison capacity by deporting foreign-national offenders and constructing new "Nightingale" prison facilities.
Whole-life orders, which differ from standard life sentences by having no possibility of parole, are reserved for the most severe crimes. As of March 2025, there were 70 whole-life prisoners in the UK, including serial child killer Lucy Letby and police officer Wayne Couzens, who murdered Sarah Everard.
Yusuf concluded by criticising the early release of violent offenders under the current Labour administration, positioning his party's policy as the only credible solution to end what he described as a national failure.
