Reform UK’s election ‘manifesto’ has been described as “problematic” by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, which said its tax cuts would cost “tens of billions of pounds a year more” than Reform anticipated.
And while Reform’s leader Nigel Farage promised to deliver a “radical rethink” of the NHS and the UK’s public services during his party’s election ‘manifesto’ launch, the IFS suggested that Reform’s cost-saving measures would save less than set out.
“Even with the extremely optimistic assumptions about how much economic growth would increase, the sums in this manifesto do not add up,” the IFS said.
“Whilst Reform’s manifesto gives a clear sense of priority, a government could only implement parts of this package, or would need to find other ways to help pay for it, which would mean losers not specified.”
Key proposals outlined in the manifesto – which Reform UK has described as a a ‘contract’ in an attempt to distance itself from other political parties – include:
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On immigration, leave the European Convention on Human Rights within 100 days and allow zero illegal immigrants to settle in the UK.
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Freeze all non-essential immigration and raise employers’ National Insurance rates for foreign workers to 20%
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On the NHS, give tax relief of 20% on all private healthcare and insurance
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On the economy, reduce the main corporation tax rate from 25% to 15% in three years; abolish business rates for small and medium businesses; and cut fuel duty by 20p per litre
Farage rejected criticism of his plans to cut tax while increasing public spending by an additional £141bn every year, without providing fully costed details on where the money would come from. Instead, he described his proposals as “outside the box”.
Yahoo News has ended live coverage of Reform UK’s manifesto launch. Read below for a summary of the day’s events:
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER53 updates
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Farage – I wouldn’t work with the OBR
Liz Truss’s spell as PM was disastrous for the UK economy. (PA) Nigel Farage said he doesn’t “want to work with the OBR”.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was created in 2010 to provide independent analysis of the UK’s public finances.
Asked about the comparisons between Reform’s plans and former prime minister Liz Truss’s mini-budget, he said: “I don’t want to work with the OBR. I mean they’re part of the problem, not part of the solution. We need radical, fresh thinking, we haven’t had it for years in this country. We are getting poorer.
He added: “Britain is broken, we’re presenting some radical ideas for how we can change that.”
Farage has not responded to criticism of how he would fund massive tax cuts and a huge increase in public spending with any detail.
Truss was widely criticised for refusing to allow the OBR to provide a full forecast of her mini-budget that hit the economy and ultimately forced her to quit.
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Deadline to register to vote is tomorrow
(Getty) A quick remind that tomorrow (18 June) is the deadline to register to vote in the election on 4 July.
This can be done online at the government website.
For more information about how to find out which candidate is standing in your local area, check out Yahoo’s handy guide here.
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Nigel Farage promises tighter borders and tax cuts in election ‘contract’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage launches ‘Our Contract with You’ in Merthyr Tydfil while on the general election campaign trail. (Alamy) Nigel Farage, whose entry into the election has damaged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s faint hopes of victory, set out his policy plans on Monday, describing them as the first step to becoming the dominant party on the right of British politics.
On Monday he said the earlier-than-expected election had come too soon for his Reform UK party but called on supporters of Sunak’s Conservatives to “join the revolt” and pitched Reform as the only ones who could hold to account Labour, whose leader Keir Starmer is forecast to become the next prime minister.
Read the full story from Reuters.
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