Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been accused of promising ‘a return to damaging austerity’ after setting out plans to slash public spending in a major speech today
Nigel Farage has been accused of promising “a return to damaging austerity” after setting out plans to slash public spending.
In a rambling speech on the economy in central London, the Reform leader failed to back the pensions triple lock, cast doubt on the minimum wage for young people and vowed to cut the welfare bill. He also dropped his flagship £90billion tax cuts after they were ridiculed by economists.
After the speech, Mr Farage was quickly accused of setting out an “incoherent saloon bar budget” that would benefit hedge funds and financial speculators at the expense of workers.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “Nigel Farage has promised a return to damaging austerity, taking an axe to public services, with no cuts off the table. He complained the minimum wage is too high for young workers, while doubling down on his golden giveaway to foreign billionaires.
“Reform would slash the NHS, schools, and pensions – and cancel Labour’s investment in local roads, rail, and clean energy, putting millions of jobs at risk and wreaking havoc on family finances.”
The Mirror looks at all the ways Reform is looking to take an axe to public spending.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage ‘to betray pensioners’ with response to state pension triple lock
Pensions triple lock at risk
Mr Farage refused to commit to keeping the pensions triple lock if he got into power.
And asked if he would commit to the pension triple lock – which ensures pensions go up by the highest of average earnings growth, price inflation (CPI), or 2.5% – Mr Farage rambled: “If I’m right and that election comes in 2027, then the economy will be in an even worse state than any of us in this room could even predict. So how can anybody project on pensions or thresholds or any of those things between now and then?”
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “Farage is looking to raid the pockets of some of the most vulnerable pensioners to pay for his anti-net zero agenda and the mysterious, unelected ‘advisers’ he envisages running the Government.
“He is no champion of pensioners — he’d betray them if he ever reached Downing Street.”
‘Heartless’ welfare cuts
If elected, Mr Farage said Reform UK would “substantially cut the benefits bill” and “reduce the size of the public sector”, adding that all disability claims would be reassessed and “dealt with in person”.
He last week announced controversial plans to scrap Personal Independence Payments for people with anxiety. The policy was labelled “cruel, heartless and reprehensible”.
The proposal is one of several aimed at reforming the welfare system, which also includes a pledge to make all assessments face-to-face, as well as introducing a “fast track to work” system for those having their payments withdrawn. Reform UK’s head of policy Zia Yusuf says the sweeping crackdown on benefits could save £9billion a year by 2029.
Net zero plan to put jobs at risk
Mr Farage reiterated his pledge to scrap Net Zero – the government’s package of policies to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
He hit out at the “lunatic cost” of Net Zero, saying: “We will scrap all Net Zero subsidies. We will bring down the cost of energy.” Reform has already vowed to scrap contracts with energy firms to reverse an expansion of renewables, if it gets into power.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “His ideological attack on net zero will place tens of thousands of jobs at risk in key sectors like EV vehicles and green steel.” Labour analysis has previously suggested that 950,000 jobs would be threatened by Mr Farage’s “war on clean energy”.
Minimum wage too high for young workers
Mr Farage cast doubt on the minimum wage for younger workers – after suggesting it is too high.
The Reform UK leader said: “There’s an argument the minimum wage is too high for younger workers, particularly given we’ve lowered the level at which NIC (National Insurance Contribution) is paid to £5,000 a year. So do one or the other.”
The current minimum wage is £7.55 for those under 18, £10 for those aged 18 to 20, and £12.21 for those aged 21 and over.
Foreign aid budget
Reform’s 2024 manifesto pledged to cut the foreign aid budget by 50%, which the party said would save billions a year.
Reform wanted to use the money to help fund it’s multi-billion pound tax cuts, which have now seemingly been dropped. But head of policy Zia Yusuf has insisted the foreign aid cuts are still going ahead.
He pledged to cut foreign aid by “at least” £7billion or £8billion a year. He said on Sunday: “We will materially reduce foreign aid for the time being because it’s unacceptable that 15 year olds in Wales, Welsh 15 year olds in an international PISA rankings have a lower educational attainment than 15 year olds in Turkey to whom the British taxpayer sends foreign aid every year.”
Boost for foreign billionaires
While Mr Farage is busy announcing spending cuts, he also managed to double down on his plan to put more money in rich people’s pockets.
In plans announced earlier this year, Reform said it would let wealthy tycoons from overseas get “non-dom” tax status if they pay a one-off fee. Those who hand over the cash for a ‘Britannia Card’ will be shielded from paying UK tax on overseas earnings
Today, Mr Farage brazenly launched a defence of rich people – and said more needed to be done to stop them leaving the country. He ranted about wealthy people leaving to Lisbon, Athens and Dubai.
“A quarter of a million Britons now living in Dubai alone,” he whined. “And that’s why we introduced the idea of the Britannia card, a one-off payment for non-doms to come back, settle here and pay all the relevant tax on their UK income.”
When he first announced the plan, Labour branded the plan “a golden ticket for foreign billionaires to avoid the tax they owe in this country”.
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