Kruger sparks fury with remarks at Somerset festival
A Reform UK MP has provoked an outcry after asserting that men arriving in the UK on small boats across the Channel are “comparatively wealthy” and do not merit the assistance of the British state.
Danny Kruger, who defected from the Conservatives last year, made the comments at the Big Brue festival in Bruton, Somerset, insisting that the sums migrants pay to people smugglers — often their life savings or borrowed funds — demonstrate their financial standing.
“By the way, most of them are comparatively wealthy and fit young men who’ve crossed safe countries to begin the journey to the UK,” he told attendees.
Charities condemn remarks as ‘completely false’
Organisations providing support to refugees were swift to reject Kruger’s characterisation of asylum seekers.
Seema Syeda, a spokesperson for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said the notion that most boat arrivals are affluent bears no resemblance to reality. She pointed out that those granted asylum in the UK are typically barred from working and survive on as little as £8 per week, with many sliding into destitution.
“Whether rich or poor, people fleeing war and persecution deserve to be welcomed. The right to safety is a human right,” she added. Syeda also noted that many who reach British shores have been forcibly displaced by conflicts, genocide or imperialism — some of which, she argued, has been funded or supported by the British state, both historically and in the present day.
Reform figure echoes incendiary language on immigration
Kruger’s intervention follows closely on the heels of controversial remarks by another Reform politician. Matt Goodwin, the party’s unsuccessful candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, caused widespread anger earlier this month when he claimed at the party’s annual conference that the “best and the brightest” of the British population had been replaced by “drug-dealing goat-herders” through immigration.
When asked about Goodwin’s comments, Kruger did not distance himself from the language. He confirmed it was factual, stating: “There are some drug-dealing goat-herders who we’ve admitted to this country.” He went on to suggest that such individuals “don’t like our country.”
The Reform MP also expressed concern about what he described as “massive cultural transformation,” claiming that many admitted to the nation do not share broadly held values. Unusually, he extended his criticism beyond recent arrivals, targeting second- and third-generation migrants. He argued that newer immigrants were “probably more pro-British” because they had chosen to come, while generations raised in the UK had become alienated — a problem he attributed in part to political failures.
Kruger warned that continued policies would lead to civil war, accusing leaders of engaging in “elite virtue signalling” and pretending that multicultural diversity is a strength, while refusing to acknowledge problems openly.
Green Party calls for safe routes and unity
Rachel Millward, co-deputy leader of the Green party, hit back at Reform, describing the party as funded by billionaires that chooses to attack the most vulnerable members of society — those escaping environmental breakdown, famine and war.
She urged politicians to offer real solutions rather than stoke division, coming just days after anti-immigrant protests led to violence and disorder in the streets. Millward called for more safe routes so that those seeking asylum can apply before leaving their home countries, thereby avoiding dangerous crossings in small boats altogether.
The political temperature around immigration is unlikely to cool any time soon, with Reform continuing to push a hardline position while opponents demand compassion and practical policy.
Why it Matters
These remarks matter well beyond the confines of a political festival in Somerset. With small boat crossings remaining one of the most prominent and emotionally charged issues in British public life, statements from elected figures carry real weight — shaping public debate, influencing policy, and, crucially, affecting the lived experiences of some of the most vulnerable people in the country. Kruger’s framing of asylum seekers as wealthy and undeserving directly contradicts the evidence offered by organisations on the ground, and his echoing of inflammatory language raises serious questions about the direction of political discourse. As Millward rightly notes, the response to this moment will reveal whether Britain’s leaders are prepared to offer solutions rooted in facts and humanity, or whether they will continue to allow division to fill the void.
