To promote its plans on energy bills, Reform UK launched a competition where the winner and their entire street will have their energy bills paid for the year
A brazen attempt by Reform UK to slash people’s energy bills was branded Nigel Farage’s “latest con” after an event on Tuesday.
The party announced plans to scrap VAT and green levies on household energy bills if it is elected to power. To promote the policy, Reform launched a competition where the winner and their entire street will have their energy bills paid for the year. The party insisted the prize is within electoral law but faced questions about its tactics.
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: “Nigel Farage cheered on Trump’s illegal war on Iran that is sending petrol prices and energy bills through the roof. Now he says he wants to cut your energy bills. This is just Farage’s latest con. Just like Brexit, he peddles his lies then leaves the British people to pick up the tab.”
READ MORE: Reform chief faces demand to ‘urgently’ respond to ‘£600k tax avoidance’ claim
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At a press conference on Tuesday, Nigel Farage was asked what would happen if “someone filthy rich” or “someone as wealthy” as Reform deputy leader Richard Tice won the draw.
“It’s fairly unlikely that anybody living in Bishop’s Avenue is going to win ‘Nigel cut my bills’ and if the draw came out that way, I might have to redo it,” he replied.
He was also challenged about a backlash to his prize draw after being told that ITV’s This Morning received about 200 Ofcom complaints after it launched a similar competition in 2022. He jokingly said he is not going to “U-turn immediately on this one”.
Asked about which electoral laws apply, an Electoral Commission spokesperson told The Mirror: “There are criminal offences, including bribery and treating, which may apply to activity taking place in UK elections, but these would depend on the facts of any particular case.
“Treating occurs if any food, drink, entertainment, or provision is directly or indirectly provided to voters to corruptly influence them to vote or refrain from voting. Treating requires corrupt intent and does not apply to ordinary hospitality, such as offering refreshments at a political event… Any allegations should be reported directly to the police.”
Meanwhile, Labour’s chair Anna Turley piled pressure on Mr Tice to explain himself over recent reports he avoided paying nearly £600,000 in corporation tax. She branded it a “slap in the face to ordinary people” and said Reform’s tax plans cannot be taken “seriously” until the situation is clarified.
The Reform deputy leader reportedly avoided paying corporation tax on his property company Quidnet Reit Ltd over a three-year period after gaining a rare legal status for his firm. Mr Tice has defended his tax arrangement and insisted there was no “obligation” to pay the maximum tax required and suggested few people would do so. And at the press conference, Mr Farage said his deputy had “obeyed the law” and echoed that there is no requirement for anyone to pay “more tax than they have to”.
But Ms Turley said: “Nobody should take Reform’s tax plans seriously until its deputy leader explains why he avoided paying nearly £600,000 in tax.
“It’s a slap in the face to ordinary working people that Nigel Farage’s right-hand man has admitted avoiding tax which could cover VAT on energy bills for almost 7,500 households. Reform are not on your side.”
Susie Elks, Senior Policy Advisor at E3G, criticised Reform UK for “torpedoing” green energy contracts and accused the party of having an obsession with protecting oil and gas giants. “By torpedoing contracts with clean energy companies Reform would damage investment in the UK economy,” she said.
“No one will want to invest in a country that doesn’t stick by its contracts. The Iran crisis is a stark reminder that, when oil and gas prices go up, so do our energy bills.
“Reform’s obsession with protecting oil and gas profits will damage Britain’s international reputation and force families to pay higher bills every time there is a major international event.”
Uplift deputy director Robert Palmer added: “Nigel Farage says that he is on the side of regular people, and yet he is a cheerleader for an oil and gas industry that is set to make obscene profits at our expense due to the war in Iran.
“Reform originally backed Trump’s war with Iran, which is leading to higher petrol prices, hikes in our energy bills and rising mortgage rates.”